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Canada's national weekly current affairs magazineSun, 02 Aug 2015 22:30:50 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2Pistorious could be released Aug. 21 to house arresthttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/pistorious-could-be-released-aug-21-to-house-arrest/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/pistorious-could-be-released-aug-21-to-house-arrest/#commentsMon, 08 Jun 2015 14:16:15 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=727333Prison committee recommends Pistorius be released from the prison in Pretoria later this summer

JOHANNESBURG — Prison officials have recommended that Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend, be released from prison Aug. 21 for good behaviour after serving just 10 months and be moved to house arrest, the head of correctional services said on Monday.

The news emerged the same day the country’s Supreme Court of Appeal announced the prosecution’s appeal against Pistorius’ acquittal on a murder charge for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp would be heard in November.

Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic athlete, was found guilty of culpable homicide for shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a closed toilet door in his home in 2013. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Under South African law, he is eligible to be released under conditions after serving one-sixth of his sentence, which is 10 months in this case.

Acting National Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise said Monday that a prison committee recommended last week that Pistorius be released from the prison in Pretoria on Aug. 21, exactly 10 months after he was sentenced and meaning he will have served the minimum amount of jail time his sentence required.

Modise said the committee made the recommendation on the basis of Pistorius’ good behaviour in the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in the capital, Pretoria, where he has been incarcerated since Oct. 21.

“He’s behaving himself very well,” Modise said. “He hasn’t given us any problems.”

Correctional Services spokesman Manelisi Wolela said the exact conditions of Pistorius’ house arrest wouldn’t be made public.

The prison’s parole board had not yet made the final decision to release Pistorius, and the world-famous runner must “keep behaving well” to be released, Modise said.

If released, Pistorius would be under strict probation conditions and would be monitored, Modise said. He said authorities would consider allowing him to begin training again.

However, Pistorius will also again face the possibility of a minimum of 15 years in prison if a panel of judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal overturns the original decision in his murder trial and convicts him of murder.

The court has not yet set an exact date for the start of the appeal, court registrar Paul Myburgh said, but it will be this November.

Last year, prosecutors appealed the decision by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa to find Pistorius guilty of the lesser charge, saying he should have been convicted of murder for shooting four times through the toilet cubicle door, killing Steenkamp. In December, Masipa granted prosecutors permission to appeal her finding at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Myburgh said chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux had already met with the president of the court.

Some of the details of the appeal hearing have been ironed out: Prosecutors must submit their court papers outlining their argument by Aug. 17. Pistorius’ defence team must submit its response by Sept. 17, Myburgh said.

]]>JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – A South African judge has ruled that prosecutors can appeal the acquittal on murder charges of Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of culpable homicide in the death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa announced the ruling in a Pretoria court on Wednesday.

In October, Masipa convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide and sentenced him to a five-year prison term. He could be released from prison to be held under house arrest after 10 months.

Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp in his home on Valentine’s Day last year. He said he thought a dangerous intruder was in the house; prosecutors allege he killed his girlfriend after an argument.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/judge-rules-prosecutors-can-appeal-oscar-pistorius-verdict/feed/0Oscar Pistorius gets five years in jail for killing Reeva Steenkamphttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-sentenced-to-5-years-in-shooting-death-of-girlfriend/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-sentenced-to-5-years-in-shooting-death-of-girlfriend/#commentsTue, 21 Oct 2014 09:15:54 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=626349Pistorius had earlier been convicted of culpable homicide in the death of Reeva Steenkamp last year.

Oscar Pistorius

PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius was taken away in a police van Tuesday to start serving a five-year prison sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

A South African judge cited the “gross negligence” the Olympic runner showed when he shot Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home when she delivered the sentence. Pistorius’ prison term begins immediately.

Pistorius could be released after 10 months in jail to serve the remainder under house arrest, according to legal experts.

Masipa also sentenced Pistorius to three years in prison for unlawfully firing a gun in a restaurant in a separate incident weeks before Steenkamp’s 2013 shooting death. She ordered that sentence to be wholly suspended for five years on condition that Pistorius is not found guilty of another firearm offence.

Masipa delivered her ruling after reviewing prosecution arguments for a tough sentence as well as the defence case for a more lenient punishment for Pistorius. She said it was a balancing act after defence lawyers had argued that Pistorius had already suffered emotionally and financially after what he called an accidental killing.

Masipa last month convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide, but acquitted him of murder after he testified he mistook Steenkamp for a nighttime intruder.

“The following is what I consider is a sentence that is fair and just both to society and the accused,” Masipa said as she announced her decision.

She asked Pistorius to stand as she delivered the sentence, and the world-famous disabled runner faced her with his hands clasped in front of him. Pistorius then left the Pretoria courtroom down a flight of stairs that lead to holding cells. His sentence starts immediately and he was taken straight to the cells, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority said.

Pistorius’ defence and the prosecution can both appeal the decision.

PHOTO GALLERY

Nathi Mncube, the prosecution spokesman, said his office is disappointed in the culpable homicide conviction and has not yet decided whether to appeal the sentence.

“We have not made up our minds whether we’re going to appeal it or not,” he said. He added that there was an “appetite” to appeal but that prosecutors have 14 days to review their options.

“We are satisfied with the fact that he will be serving some time in prison,” he said.

He said he thought the South African public would be satisfied because their justice system had been shown to be “functional.”
“It’s not only about vengeance but it is about making sure that there is a fair and just process,” he said.

Masipa had a wide range of options available to her because South Africa does not have a minimum sentence for culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter. Pistorius faced up to 15 years in jail, but could also have received a completely suspended sentence or house arrest.

“I am of the view that a non-custodial sentence would send a wrong message to the community,” Masipa said after summarizing parts of the case and explaining why she reached her decision. “On the other hand, a long sentence would not be appropriate either as it would lack the element of mercy.”

Marius du Toit, a legal analyst and criminal defence lawyer, said Pistorius would have to serve one-sixth of his sentence in prison — 10 months — before he could be eligible to be moved to house arrest.

“It’s an appropriate sentence,” du Toit said. He said a higher sentence would have been impossible because “you cannot elevate the sentence to murder.”

Pistorius, 27, was earlier escorted through crowds of onlookers and into the Pretoria courthouse ahead of sentencing by police officers wearing blue berets. The parents of Steenkamp, the 29-year-old model he shot in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013, were also in court to hear the sentence.

The courtroom was packed, reflecting heightened media and public interest. Police officers stood guard in the aisles.

A Pistorius supporter laid three white roses near Pistorius. “I just wanted to bestow a little bit of inner happiness on Oscar,” said the supporter.

Outside the courthouse, a man in orange garb carried chains and a large sign that read: “Are certain offenders more equal than other offenders before the law?”

STELLENBOSCH, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius will finally learn his fate Tuesday when a judge is expected to announce the Olympic runner’s sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius could be sentenced to years in prison, or he could be given a suspended sentence and a fine and receive no jail time for shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home.

More than seven months after Pistorius’ trial started, Judge Thokozile Masipa will announce what punishment she has decided on after finding him guilty of culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter, but acquitting him of murder.

Prosecutors have demanded at least 10 years in prison for the double-amputee athlete. His defence lawyers have suggested that three years of correctional supervision, with periods of house arrest and community service, would be appropriate.

Pistorius testified during his murder trial that he mistook Steenkamp for a dangerous nighttime intruder about to come out of the cubicle and attack him when he shot four times through the door with his 9 mm pistol. Judge Masipa last month ruled that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp, but he acted negligently and with excessive force in the Valentine’s Day 2013 killing.

He was also convicted of unlawfully firing a gun in a restaurant weeks before Steenkamp’s death. That normally carries a fine for a first offence, but has a maximum of five years in prison.

Masipa has a wide range of options available to her at the climax of the trial because there is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide.

Pistorius, 27, could serve no jail time, and possibly consider returning to the career that made him one of the world’s most recognizable runners on his carbon-fiber running blades, and the first amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics in 2012. He could be placed under house arrest, or he could be sent to prison for up to 15 years, almost certainly ending his running days.

Pistorius’ brother and sister, Carl and Aimee, gave interviews to a South African television station on the eve of the sentencing, describing what they said was a difficult and emotional time in the more than a year-and-a-half since their brother killed Steenkamp.

“It has been a long journey to this point,” Aimee Pistorius told eNCA. “A very taxing one. It is difficult to support someone through something like this — all the guilt and ridicule and obviously the exposure that has come with it.”

Carl Pistorius said: “Tomorrow will be very difficult. This is a weight we all have to carry.”

During his sentencing hearing last week, Pistorius’ chief defence lawyer called social workers and a psychologist who testified that the athlete had suffered significantly already, both emotionally and financially.

“He’s not only broke, but he’s broken,” chief defence lawyer Barry Roux said of Pistorius. “There is nothing left of this man.”

Pistorius’ defence team also argued that South African prisons cannot cater for his disability and he would be vulnerable. Roux even cited an alleged threat against Pistorius by a reputed prison gang leader.

Prosecutors insist Pistorius must go to prison because of what they called the “horrific” nature of Steenkamp’s death. The 29-year-old model was hit in the head, arm and hip with hollow-point bullets fired by Pistorius.

Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that the defence’s suggestion of house arrest and 16 hours of community service a month was a “shockingly inappropriate” sentence.

Recent sentences for culpable homicide in South Africa have been cited by analysts of Pistorius’ case.

A singer known as Jub Jub had his murder conviction overturned and replaced with a culpable homicide conviction after a 2010 drag race, when he and another man ploughed their cars into a group of schoolchildren on a road, killing four and seriously injuring two. The singer was sentenced to eight years in prison for culpable homicide.

In 2011, a South African rugby player convicted of culpable homicide for the beating death of a policeman on a Pretoria road was given a five-year suspended prison sentence. He served no jail time and paid the victim’s family $85,000 in compensation.

On Monday, correctional services authorities denied media reports by a radio network that they were already preparing a cell for Pistorius in a high-security section of Pretoria Central Prison ahead of the announcement of his sentence.

]]>PRETORIA, South Africa – Oscar Pistorius was being portrayed as a “poor victim” ahead of his sentencing for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel was cross-examining Pistorius’ agent, Peet van Zyl, on the second day of a sentencing hearing in South Africa for the double-amputee Olympic runner who was found guilty last month of culpable homicide by Judge Thokozile Masipa.

The judge has wide latitude when deciding on a sentence. Pistorius, 27, could receive a fine and a suspended jail sentence or as many as 15 years in prison.

Van Zyl was called to testify by Pistorius’ defence lawyers, who are arguing that Masipa should be lenient on the multiple Paralympic champion, who they say has suffered emotionally and financially after the shooting. Van Zyl testified Monday regarding what he called Pistorius’ extensive charity work before the Feb. 14, 2013 shooting death of Steenkamp and said that Pistorius had now lost all his product endorsements because of the killing.

Cross-examining van Zyl, Nel said “You view Mr. Pistorius as a poor victim of this case.”

Van Zyl denied that.

Nel also questioned Pistorius’ motives for getting involved in charity work, saying it was a smart career move for athletes to lend their names to good causes and that he was obligated to participate in such activities for their sponsors.

“They market themselves by being involved in charity,” Nel said. “It’s merely an advancement of your career to become involved.”

Van Zyl said it could be perceived that way, but added: “I think that a lot of sportsmen really want to make a difference and to contribute.”

Nel challenged van Zyl after he said “maybe there would still have been some opportunities” for Pistorius were it not for alleged inaccuracies in media reporting on the case. Van Zyl said that, since the killing, he had received some invitations asking Pistorius to address audiences and share his life story.

“The legacy that he’s left behind is still relevant today,” he said.

The prosecutor appeared incredulous at van Zyl’s remarks, suggesting Pistorius’ manager was blaming the media and others, including prosecutors, for the predicament of a man who had killed a young woman by firing four hollow-point bullets through a toilet door. Masipa found Pistorius not guilty of premeditated murder and of murder for shooting Steenkamp through a toilet cubicle door in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s Day 2013. He testified he mistook her for an intruder about to attack him and denied prosecution assertions that he shot her during an argument.

Pistorius’ sentencing hearing is expected to last around a week.

Defence lawyers have also called a social worker, who testified that correctional supervision for three years with periods of house arrest would be a suitable sentence for Pistorius. Prosecutors have insisted he should go to prison for killing Steenkamp.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/prosecutor-pistorius-portrayed-as-poor-victim-during-hearing/feed/0Oscar Pistorius convicted of culpable homicidehttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/cleared-of-murder-oscar-pistorius-is-convicted-of-culpable-homicide-in-girlfriends-killing/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/cleared-of-murder-oscar-pistorius-is-convicted-of-culpable-homicide-in-girlfriends-killing/#commentsFri, 12 Sep 2014 09:26:41 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=606787Sentencing of former Olympian to be announced at a later date

Pistorius and Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp pose for a picture in Johannesburg on Feb. 7, 2013. Pistorius was charged with murder after his girlfriend was shot dead on Feb. 14, 2012. (Thembani Makhubele/Reuters)

Prosecutors said they were disappointed by the ruling but would decide on whether to appeal only after sentencing.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said there was not enough evidence to support the contention that Pistorius knew Steenkamp was behind a locked toilet door in his home when he shot through the door in the predawn hours of Valentine’s Day last year. Masipa said prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp.

The red-robed judge ordered Pistorius, 27, to stand before she delivered the formal verdict on the multiple counts against him, and said it was a unanimous verdict, meaning she and her two legal assessors agreed on the findings. The conviction of culpable homicide, or negligent killing, can bring a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

Unlike many other times during the trial that began in March, Pistorius showed no emotion as he stood in his dark suit with his hands crossed in front of him. The double-amputee Olympian was hugged by relatives when the judge ordered a recess soon after announcing her verdicts. A bail hearing is pending Friday afternoon.

Some legal analysts said they understood why Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder but were surprised that the runner was not convicted of murder.

We believe there is sufficient and credible evidence to secure a conviction” on a murder charge, said Nathi Mncube, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority. He said, however, that any decision to appeal the judge’s ruling would come after the case is concluded” with sentencing.

The sentence for a culpable homicide conviction is at the judge’s discretion, and it can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to up to a maximum of 15 years in prison. Sentencing was expected to be announced at a later date.

After the verdict, Pistorius sat with his sister Aimee on the wooden bench where he has spent most of his six-month murder trial. She put an arm around his shoulders and spoke to him.

For the first time in the trial, Pistorius left by going down the stairs that led to the cells in the courthouse. That’s because Pistorius’ bail expired after his conviction and the judge was considering whether to re-grant him bail. Pistorius’ lawyer, Brian Webber, said Pistorius was taken to a holding position.”

Defence lawyer Barry Roux told the judge that Pistorius should stay free on bail until sentencing because he had complied with bail conditions imposed on him after he killed Steenkamp. Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, however, said Pistorius now had more reason to flee because he had probably hoped for an acquittal during the trial.

Now he knows for a fact that, ‘I’ve been convicted of a serious offence and imprisonment is probable,”’ Nel said.

Members of Steenkamp’s family, including her mother June and father Barry, were in court to hear the verdict in the 29-year-old model’s killing.

The judge ruled that the athlete was guilty of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place when a friend’s pistol he was handling discharged under a table in a restaurant in Johannesburg in early 2013 — weeks before Steenkamp’s killing.

Pistorius was acquitted on two other weapons charges, including a count of firing a gun in public and a count of illegal possession of ammunition in the Pretoria home where he killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013. He said he mistook her for an intruder, while the prosecution said he killed her intentionally after an argument.

On Friday, armed security officers stood at each of the three entrances to the courtroom, while others stood near the red-robed judge as she explained her verdicts from her dais overlooking the court. There were also paramedics in the courtroom.

1. Gaza could be stalling a war-crimes probe. On July 25, Palestinian leaders called on the International Criminal Court to investigate the conduct of both warring sides in the deadly weeks-long fight between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinian Authority’s justice minister, Saleem al-Saqqa, co-signed a letter with Palestinian general prosecutor Ismaeil Jabr to that effect. The wrinkle: only a head of state, head of government, or foreign minister can agree to such a probe. Now, Al Jazeera has uncovered a letter from ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that claims “no positive confirmation” from any of those authorized Palestinian officials. Indeed, Bensouda “did not receive a positive confirmation” after an Aug. 5 meeting with Riad Malki, the PA’s foreign minister. Whether that was a straight-up miscommunication, a misunderstanding, or an internal Palestinian disagreement remains unclear. Neither the PA nor the ICC answered Al Jazeera’s calls.

2. Rob Ford moved to a different hospital. Toronto’s beleaguered mayor, diagnosed with a tumour and undergoing severe abdominal pain, made the trip today from Humber River Regional Hospital to Mount Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto. His brother, the usually talkative Coun. Doug Ford, said little to reporters on the scene. Doug did thank well-wishers for their messages and relayed that the mayor was in good spirits, but declined to comment much on the future of the Fords’ mayoral campaign. The deadline to enter the race is Friday, and brother Doug could register if health issues force Rob to step aside. Little is known of the mayor’s condition.

3. The anti-ISIS coalition grows. President Barack Obama’s latest allies in a renewed fight against terrorists in Iraq and Syria are the Gulf Co-operation Council, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Representatives of those Arab nations joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, where they signed the Jeddah Communique that declared a “shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism.” They also committed to, “as appropriate, joining in the many aspects” of whatever military campaign the coalition wages against ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, Russia called any American-led fighting in Syria a “gross violation” of international law. Imagine the Americans’ surprise.

4. Oscar Pistorius isn’t guilty of murder. But he may not be innocent, either, in the killing of his former girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will deliver her final verdict tomorrow, says Pistorius, who admitted to firing the four shots that killed Steenkamp, may still be guilty of culpable homicide. Pistorius was brought to tears as Masipa addressed the courtroom.

5. Have you ever heard of Spinosaurus? If you’re prone to palaeontology in the Moroccan desert, you might be lucky enough to unearth what researchers just discovered: remains of the seven-tonne beast that was bigger than a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a capable swimmer, to boot. Reuters reports that the massive predator, which carried a two-metre-tall sail on its back, “plunged into the waterways and enjoyed an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet” as it “terrorized a vast North African river system from Morocco to Egypt.” Just be glad you didn’t chance a swim in the same neighbourhood some 95 million years ago. A lead researcher described Spinosaurus’s habitat as “the most dangerous place in the history of our planet.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/nick-taylor-vaisey/stories-were-watching-tk/feed/0Judge says Oscar Pistorius cannot be found guilty of murderhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-murder-trial-judge-begins-reading-reasoning-behind-upcoming-verdict/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-murder-trial-judge-begins-reading-reasoning-behind-upcoming-verdict/#commentsThu, 11 Sep 2014 09:40:25 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=606175A formal verdict in the case that has riveted much of the world is expected Friday.

Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during the fourth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

PRETORIA, South Africa — The judge in Oscar Pistorius’ trial said Thursday he can’t be found guilty of murder but that he was negligent in the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, raising the possibility that the double-amputee Olympian will be convicted of culpable homicide.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said she felt Pistorius acted negligently when he fatally shot Steenkamp. She then stopped delivering her judgment and adjourned until Friday when a formal verdict in the case that has riveted much of South Africa and the world is expected.

While the judge did not announce any formal verdicts she indicated Pistorius would not be convicted on premeditated murder or a lesser murder charge, but that may be vulnerable to being convicted of culpable homicide, or in other words a negligent killing.

That normally carries a five-year jail sentence in South Africa, but it can be changed by a judge depending on the specific circumstances of the killing.

If Pistorius is formally acquitted of murder, he could still be sent to jail for years if it’s found he acted negligently in Steenkamp’s death. Pistorius has admitted firing the four shots that killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.

Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend, a model and budding reality TV star, for an intruder and killed her accidentally. The prosecution alleges the athlete intentionally killed her after a loud argument, which was heard by neighbours.

Masipa was explaining her reasoning behind the upcoming verdicts in the case against Pistorius. Masipa said there were “just not enough facts” to support the finding of premeditated murder in Steenkamp’s fatal shooting.

As the judge spoke, Pistorius wept quietly, his shoulders shaking as he sat on a wooden bench.

Masipa earlier told Pistorius he could remain seated on a wooden bench while she read her verdict out and until she asked him to stand. She then proceeded to explain her assessment of the testimonies of some of the 37 witnesses who testified. The process

Casting doubt on witness accounts of hearing a woman’s screams, Masipa said “none of the witnesses had ever heard the accused cry or scream, let alone when he was anxious,” apparently acknowledging the possibility that the defence argument that Pistorius had been screaming in a high-pitched voice after discovering he had fatally shot Steenkamp.

At one point, Masipa said: “I continue to explain why most witnesses got their facts wrong.”

Masipa also said she was disregarding text messages between Steenkamp and Pistorius that had been entered as evidence. Prosecutors had submitted text messages that showed tension between them while the defence submitted messages that indicated mutual affection. That evidence, the judge said, doesn’t prove anything.

“Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle,” she said.

Pistorius faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for fatally shooting Steenkamp in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013. He also faces years in jail if found guilty of murder without pre-planning, or of negligent killing. Pistorius could also be acquitted if Masipa believes he made a tragic error.

Pistorius has said he mistakenly shot Steenkamp through the closed door of a toilet cubicle, thinking there was an intruder in his home and pleaded not guilty to murder.

A key part of the prosecution’s case was its assertion that Steenkamp screamed during a late-night alleged fight with Pistorius before he killed her. But Masipa said some of those witnesses who testified to hearing a woman scream in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013 were “genuinely mistaken in what they heard, as the chronology will show.”

That appeared to indicate that the defence had succeeded in raising doubts that Steenkamp ever screamed. The defence says the screaming was instead Pistorius, who was traumatized and desperately calling for help in a high-pitched voice after realizing he had shot Steenkamp in error.

Masipa also cited testimony of an acoustics expert called by the defence, saying it cast “serious doubt” on whether witnesses who were hundreds of meters (yards) away in their homes _ as some state witnesses were _ could have differentiated between the screams of a man or a woman.

Earlier, Masipa began by outlining in detail the four charges against the Olympic runner: Murder, two counts of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place in unrelated incidents and one count of illegal possession of ammunition.

Before the session began, Pistorius hugged his brother Carl, who was seated in a wheelchair because of injuries suffered in a recent car crash.

The parents of Steenkamp were also in the packed gallery. Other members of Pistorius’ family, including his father Henke, sat behind him.

If Pistorius is convicted on any charge, the case will likely be postponed until a later sentencing hearing.

There were many journalists at the courthouse, where the sensational trial has unfolded over the last six months.

For 41 days the trial of Oscar Pistorius has consumed South Africa. It has been broadcast live on a 24-hour television channel, filled countless pages in newspapers and dominated water-cooler conversations. On Sept. 11, Judge Thokozile Masipa will finally give her verdict on this country’s fallen athletic star. If found guilty of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, the Paralympic gold medallist will face a minimum of 25 years in prison. Should he be found guilty of a lesser murder charge, the 27-year-old could still spend years behind bars. But legal analysts who have been closely watching the murder trial say there’s a chance Pistorius may avoid jail altogether if he’s convicted.

Last week the lawyers for the state and defence presented their final arguments to the judge. (Trial by jury was abolished here in the late ’60s.) State prosecutor Gerrie Nel described Pistorius’s version of the night he shot 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked washroom door as a “farce” and a “snowball of lies.” In an equally forceful return, Barry Roux, Pistorius’s main lawyer, worked to cast doubt on the quality of the police investigation—the defence alleges police mishandled key pieces of evidence, including the murder weapon—and on the merit of witnesses who heard a woman screaming early in the morning on Valentine’s Day 2013.

That Pistorius pulled the trigger is not in dispute. The question is whether Pistorius shot Steenkamp with intent to kill, or if it was a tragic mistake made by a man who, believing an intruder was in his home, feared for his life. Many trial watchers believe it’s unlikely Pistorius, who has broken down crying and retching in court at various times, will win a complete acquittal. While South Africa does have “stand your ground” laws like those in the United States, Pistorius will likely be seen by the court as going well beyond his right to self-defence, says William Booth, a criminal lawyer based in Cape Town. “Can one, in terms of the law, fire four shots into the door into a small area?” says Booth. “Is that not exceeding the bounds of self-defence?”

It didn’t help Pistorius that he changed his story on the stand, altering his description of the shooting from self-defence to an accident, then back again. Argumentative, evasive and combative, Pistorius was described by Nel as “one of the worst” witnesses he had ever come across.

Still, there are a couple of ways by which Pistorius might avoid prison. First, if he is found guilty of culpable homicide—a charge his lawyer suggested in his closing argument. That would require the court to accept Pistorius’s claim that he thought there was an intruder in his house. There is no set sentence for culpable homicide, says Booth. The sentence is at the judge’s discretion. But in that event, says Booth, “there is a good chance he may not be imprisoned.”

The defence team also laid the groundwork for both an appeal and a “reviewable irregularity,” the term in South Africa for a type of mistrial, says Stephen Tuson, a criminal law adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Roux could appeal the verdict on the facts of the case, such as arguing witness evidence was accepted when it should not have been. He could also argue that the live broadcast of the trial constitutes a reviewable irregularity that denied Pistorius a fair trial, says Tuson.

Early in the trial, Roux hinted at pushing for such a reviewable irregularity. “We were unable to call a number of witnesses because they refused, and didn’t want their voices heard all over the world,” he said. (Private forensic pathologist Reggie Perumal, who attended Steenkamp’s autopsy, did not testify for the defence—a glaring absence as a major component of the state’s case is that the model and law graduate was up and eating hours before she died, a fact that conflicts with Pistorius’s story that the couple was sound asleep.)

Roux could also claim the live broadcast, a first for South Africa, resulted in witnesses changing their stories after watching the proceedings on television. “I’m not saying anyone did this, but witnesses could tailor their evidence,” says Tuson, “and if that’s the finding of the court—that Pistorius did not get a fair trial—then it would just start again.”

Others disagree, however. Witnesses actually enjoyed more protection, says Johannesburg-based lawyer Ulrich Roux, about the live broadcast. “We do a lot of high-profile cases that get reported on in newspapers. That’s exactly the same as it being broadcast on live television,” he says. But in the Pistorius trial, if witnesses elected not to have their photograph shown, then media couldn’t take photos of them even entering court, he adds. “That’s not normal.” Of course, little about the Pistorius case has been, and the conclusion of the trial may prove to be no exception.

]]>PRETORIA, South Africa — The judge in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius says she will give a verdict on Sept. 11. Judge Thokozile Masipa made the announcement on Friday after the prosecution and the defence ended final arguments in the murder case against the double-amputee, who shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.

Earlier Friday, Pistorius’ lawyer slammed his hand onto a desk in a South African courtroom Friday to mimic the sound he says startled the disabled athlete and caused him to fire shots through a toilet stall door, killing his girlfriend.

Chief defence lawyer Barry Roux presented his closing arguments in the trial of the Olympic runner.

“You’re anxious. You’re trained as an athlete. He stands now with his finger on the trigger ready to fire,” Roux said, describing the highly fearful mindset he says double-amputee Pistorius was in when he killed Steenkamp by mistake on Valentine’s Day last year thinking she was a dangerous intruder.

“He stands there and …” Roux continued before suddenly hitting the wood surface in front of him to create a loud thump sound, arguing Pistorius fired on “reflex.”

The chief prosecutor in the blockbuster trial, which is being televised globally, on Thursday dismissed Pistorius’ entire story as an elaborate lie and urged Judge Thokozile Masipa to convict him of premeditated murder, a charge that carries a sentence of at least 25 years and up to life in prison. South Africa does not have trial by jury, nor does it have the death penalty.

Pistorius pleaded not guilty to murder and three separate firearm charges. His lawyer, however, conceded that he was guilty in one of those firearm charges, of negligently firing a gun in a public place in an incident in a restaurant weeks before the killing. Prosecutors have used those firearm charges to paint Pistorius as a hot head who was obsessed with guns, not the vulnerable figure his defence puts forward.

As his months-long trial approached its conclusion, with Friday scheduled to be the last day of arguments before the judge retires to consider her verdict, Pistorius sat on a bench behind his lawyer, wearing glasses and mostly looking straight ahead. Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor, has accused the once-celebrated multiple Paralympic champion of being an “appalling witness” who lied constantly during his testimony to try to cover up a murder after a fight between the couple.

But Roux said Pistorius’ disability had made him particularly vulnerable and anxious about crime over the years, comparing him to a victim of abuse who kills an abuser after a long period of suffering. Pistorius’ disability having had his lower legs amputated as a baby, and his long-held fear of being attacked, played a central role in an accidental killing, Roux argued.

“I do not have legs, I cannot run away, I am not the same,” Roux said to try and explain Pistorius’ decision to go to the bathroom and confront a perceived intruder rather than escape, a decision the prosecution says showed Pistorius wanted to kill someone and so is guilty of murder. Pistorius did not have his prosthetic legs on and was on his stumps when he shot Steenkamp.

Referring to some of the defence’s argument already submitted to the court in a 243-page document, Roux said there were contradictions in testimony by some neighbours who said they heard a woman screaming on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp, suggesting a fight. Roux said high-pitched screams came from Pistorius as he called for help after the shooting, and that the athlete’s timeline of the sequence of events, including telephone calls, on the night of the shooting matched the testimony of key trial witnesses.

Roux also alleged that items in Pistorius’ bedroom, near the bathroom where he killed Steenkamp, may have been moved around by investigating officers, repeating the defence’s allegation that police tampered with evidence, albeit unintentionally.

“There was no respect for the scene,” Roux said of the police investigation.

The positioning of bedroom items, including a fan, a bedcover and a pair of Steenkamp’s jeans, are important because, in police photographs, they were not in the places where Pistorius said they were before the shooting, leading prosecutors to argue that Pistorius is lying.

Pistorius could also be convicted of a lesser murder charge or negligent killing, both of which call for years in jail. Judge Masipa could acquit him if she believes he only made a tragic error. Masipa was expected to adjourn the trial at the end of proceedings Friday to deliberate on a verdict with the help of two legal assistants.

]]>PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius was an “appalling witness” who repeatedly lied in his testimony in a crude attempt to defend against a murder charge for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the chief prosecutor said Thursday during closing arguments in the athlete’s trial.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also harshly criticized the legal team of the double-amputee athlete, saying it floated more than one theory about what happened on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home. Defence lawyers, Nel said, had argued that Pistorius acted in self-defence, fearing an intruder was in the house, but also raised the possibility that he was not criminally responsible, accidentally shooting Steenkamp because he was “startled.”

“It’s two defences that you can never reconcile,” Nel said as Pistorius sat behind him in the dock. The once-celebrated athlete appeared calm, in contrast to some past occasions during which he retched and wailed in apparent distress.

The fathers of the Olympic runner and Steenkamp, a model and television personality, were in the Pretoria courthouse for the first time since the trial began in early March. They sat at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery. Pistorius is said to be estranged from his father, Henke, and Steenkamp’s father, Barry, has been ill.

Pistorius’ older brother Carl, who has regularly attended court sessions, was in an intensive care unit in a South African hospital and was on a ventilator because of injuries suffered in a serious car crash last week, the Pistorius family said in a statement.

Barry Roux, the chief defence lawyer, listened and checked files as Nel spoke for hours, occasionally urged by Judge Thokozile Masipa to speed it up, as he elaborated on the prosecution’s written arguments of more than 100 pages that were submitted to the court last week. Roux will present his final arguments on Friday before Masipa adjourns the trial to deliberate with two legal assistants on a verdict.

The prosecution has argued that Pistorius intentionally shot Steenkamp before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 after a quarrel. The defence has previously contended that he fired by mistake, thinking he was about to be attacked by an assailant in the toilet and that Steenkamp was in the bedroom.

Pistorius was vague in allegations that police had possibly tampered with evidence around the scene of the shooting, including fans and a bedcover strewn on the floor of his bedroom, according to Nel. It was also improbable that the athlete, in his version, rushed with his gun to investigate a purported sound in the bathroom without first trying to talk to Steenkamp and confirm that she was safe, the prosecutor said.

“We cannot argue that he was the worst witness ever, that honour belongs to someone else,” said the prosecution’s written argument. “The accused was, however, demonstrably one of the worst witnesses ever encountered.”

The prosecution said Pistorius “used well-calculated and rehearsed emotional outbursts to deflect the attention and avoid having to answer questions.”

A psychologist who examined Pistorius during a court-ordered observation period concluded that the athlete had become severely traumatized since the killing and could become an increasing suicide risk unless he continues to get mental health care.

In addition to the murder charge, Pistorius faces three separate gun-related charges, one of which stems from his alleged firing of a shot in a crowded restaurant in Johannesburg, months before he killed Steenkamp. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Because South Africa has no trial by jury, Judge Masipa will decide if Pistorius committed murder, is guilty of a negligent killing, or if he made a tragic error and should be acquitted. The runner faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, and also would be sent to prison for years if guilty of murder without premeditation or culpable homicide.

Earlier, Masipa told Nel and defence lawyer Roux that they had only until the end of Friday to complete their final arguments in court.

“Unless, of course, you want to work on a Saturday and perhaps Sunday, after church,” she said, smiling.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/chief-prosecutor-makes-final-arguments-at-pistorius-trial/feed/0Prosecutors make final case against Oscar Pistoriushttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/prosecutors-make-final-case-against-oscar-pistorius/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/prosecutors-make-final-case-against-oscar-pistorius/#commentsThu, 07 Aug 2014 10:20:47 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=590773Olympian faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder

PRETORIA, South Africa — The chief prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial said Thursday the double-amputee athlete’s lawyers have floated more than one theory in a dishonest attempt to defend against a murder charge for his killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel made the allegation during final arguments in the sensational trial in a Pretoria courthouse, where the fathers of the Olympic runner and Steenkamp, a model and television personality, were in court for the first time since the trial began in early March. They sat at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery.

Nel said a criminal trial was a “blunt instrument for digging up the truth” but that he was confident of his case. He then said defence lawyers had argued that Pistorius acted in self-defence, fearing an intruder was in the house, but also raised the possibility that the once-celebrated athlete was not criminally responsible, accidentally shooting Steenkamp through a closed toilet door because he was “startled.”

The prosecution has argued that Pistorius intentionally shot Steenkamp before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 after a quarrel. The defence has previously contended that he fired by mistake, thinking he was about to be attacked by an assailant in the toilet and that Steenkamp was in the bedroom.

In addition to the murder charge, Pistorius faces three separate gun-related charges, one of which stems from his alleged firing of a shot in a crowded restaurant called Tashas in Johannesburg, months before he killed Steenkamp. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

On Thursday, some of the state’s written arguments as well as transcripts of past testimony appeared on screens in the courtroom. One section questioned Pistorius’ defence case:

“Is it putative self-defence? Is it an act of sane automatism? Did he have criminal capacity to act? Or was it all an accident as in Tashas Restaurant where he had the gun in his hand and it purportedly discharged itself?”

Because South Africa has no trial by jury, Judge Thokozile Masipa will decide with the help of two legal assistants if Pistorius committed murder, is guilty of a negligent killing, or if he made a tragic error and should be acquitted. The runner faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, and also would be sent to prison for years if guilty of murder without premeditation or culpable homicide.

Earlier, Masipa told Nel and chief defence lawyer Barry Roux that they had only until the end of Friday to complete their final arguments in court.

“Unless, of course, you want to work on a Saturday and perhaps Sunday, after church,” she said, smiling.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Prosecutors and lawyers for Oscar Pistorius have one last chance to convince a South African judge when they present closing arguments this week in the murder trial of the once-celebrated athlete who fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a toilet cubicle door in his home.

On Thursday and Friday, both sides will summarize their versions of the shooting to Thokozile Masipa, the red-robed judge who will determine the fate of the double-amputee Olympic runner.

Masipa has sat impassively through most proceedings since the globally televised trial began five months ago in a Pretoria courthouse, but legal experts say she may now, in this final stage, reveal insights into her thinking about the sensational case.

“The judge will show where her allegiance lies once she starts asking questions,” said Marius du Toit, a former prosecutor and now defence lawyer who is not involved in the trial. “The party that gets hammered by the judge when arguing is the party that’s got the short end of the stick when it comes to the ruling.”

Masipa can interrogate prosecutor Gerrie Nel and chief defence lawyer Barry Roux on their explanations for the killing and evidence in the court record, which amounts to thousands of pages. The prosecution says Pistorius, 27, intentionally shot 29-year-old Steenkamp multiple times before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 in a fit of anger after a fight. The defence counters that he fired by mistake, fearing for his life after thinking an intruder was in the toilet cubicle and Steenkamp was in the bedroom.

Masipa has maintained an air of neutrality while overlooking the courtroom from her chair on a dais through weeks of testimony by dozens of witnesses.

“Now the judge’s true colours will in fact be shown,” said John Welch, a former high-ranking lawyer with South Africa’s national prosecutors’ office. “Many judges like to ask questions … things that have bugged them or bothered them during the trial.”

Because South Africa has no trial by jury, Masipa will decide with the help of two legal assistants if Pistorius committed murder, is guilty of a negligent killing, or if he made a tragic error and should be acquitted. The runner faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, and also would be sent to prison for years if guilty of murder without premeditation or culpable homicide. He faces three separate firearm charges, and pleaded not guilty to all four counts.

The prosecution has accused Pistorius of being a hot-headed egotist who carried a gun everywhere he went, and alleges he twice shot a firearm in public before the Valentine’s Day killing. Pistorius’ defence has portrayed him as mentally fragile, a disabled man who lived in fear of crime and who was terrified when he stood on just his stumps in the dark and fired four shots into the toilet cubicle door.

Before he killed Steenkamp, Pistorius was praised worldwide as a symbol of the triumph of determination over adversity, and he made history by running on his carbon-fiber running blades at the Olympics in 2012.

Trial witnesses included Pistorius’ neighbours, friends, an ex-girlfriend, his agent and his physician, as well as a long list of forensic and ballistic specialists. At times, Pistorius vomited, wailed and sobbed in the courtroom, and a psychiatrist testified he was suffering from an anxiety disorder when he shot Steenkamp. The trial was postponed for a month while Pistorius was examined at a state mental facility.

Masipa will adjourn the trial after arguments to consider her judgment, a delay that could be a week or over a month, according to various analysts. They say the burden is on the prosecution to leave no reasonable doubt in Masipa’s mind that Pistorius was intent on killing when he opened fire.

Nel and Roux will have to summarize weeks of sometimes complex testimony into a convincing final explanation lasting just a few hours, according to former prosecutor Welch.

He said: “A true lawyer is measured during the arguments because this is now when we get to the nitty-gritty of the matter.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/politics/worldpolitics/oscar-pistorius-trial-closing-arguments-begin-tomorrow/feed/0Newsmakers: More mayors behaving badly, and a crazy crimehttp://www.macleans.ca/news/need-to-know/newsmakers-more-mayors-behaving-badly-and-a-crazy-crime/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/need-to-know/newsmakers-more-mayors-behaving-badly-and-a-crazy-crime/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2014 23:18:40 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=589745Usain Bolt, Doug Horner are among our top names in the news this week

Doug Horner

Perhaps taking a page from Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s battered playbook, the mayor of Gibbons, Alta., has been stripped of his powers by councillors after allegations of bullying and a reported brawl in a local pub. “I question the wisdom of my council colleagues in taking action at this time,” said Horner, who was only nine months into his first term. No word on whether he would make another Ford-like play and take part in a videotaped coffee run with EDM artist deadmau5.

Usain Bolt

While in Glasgow to compete in the Commonwealth Games, the star Jamaican sprinter reportedly told a British journalist the event was “a bit s–t,” and that “the Olympics were better.” Asked if he was having fun in Scotland, the 27-year-old replied, “not really.” The comments spread online, though the world’s fastest man swiftly took to Twitter to deny the report. “I’m waking up to this nonsense . . . journalist please don’t create lies to make headlines.” Bolt couldn’t outrun another Games scandal, though, as three Commonwealth security guards were fired after taking selfies with the Olympian.

Nicole Gainey

The 33-year-old mother from Port St. Lucie, Fla., was arrested and charged last week for child abandonment. But the details of the charge reveal a more disturbing story: Gainey was put through the legal wringer because she let her seven-year-old son, Dominic, play alone in a park just 800 m from her home. Dominic had gone for a swim and then, with a cellphone around his neck, ran to the park, where lifeguards noticed the child and phoned police. “I honestly didn’t think I was doing anything wrong,” said Gainey. Her case echoes that of a South Carolina mother arrested earlier this summer for allowing her nine-year-old daughter to play at a park while she worked nearby.

Oscar Pistorius

With closing arguments in his trial set to begin next week, the South African Paralympian accused of murdering his girlfriend has mounted a hefty legal bill. In a bid to pay it off, the 27-year-old sold the house where Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Feb. 14, 2013. The four-bedroom home in a gated Pretoria community was bought for just over $420,000—almost a quarter-million dollars below the price Pistorius first tried to sell it for in 2011. The property was purchased by a mining consultant who wanted to retire in a “safe area.”

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

A trio of world-class Québécois athletes are making Canada proud again. This time, it’s not the three Dufour-Lapointe sisters who dazzled on the Olympic slopes; it’s the Leblanc-Bazinet family—Camille, Claude and Alexis—who took the CrossFit Games by storm. The gruelling workout contest features a swath of intense competitions, with Camille coming out on top, earning the “Fittest Woman on Earth” title. “When you know you deserve it, it feels like the right thing,” she said.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/need-to-know/newsmakers-more-mayors-behaving-badly-and-a-crazy-crime/feed/0Oscar Pistorius found not mentally ill as trial resumeshttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-found-not-mentally-ill-as-trail-resumes/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-found-not-mentally-ill-as-trail-resumes/#commentsMon, 30 Jun 2014 12:34:43 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=575559Prosecutor: reports show Oscar Pistorius not mentally ill when he killed girlfriend in home

]]>PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius was not suffering from a mental illness when he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and was able to understand the wrongfulness of what he had done, according to reports submitted Monday at his murder trial.

The conclusions by a panel of mental health experts, read out by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, appeared to remove the possibility that the Olympic athlete could be declared not guilty because of a mental disorder, which would have led to his referral to a state psychiatric institute for care. The court-ordered evaluation was conducted in the past month after a psychiatrist testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder that could have contributed to the fatal shooting in his home in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013.

Nel announced the conclusions when the trial resumed after a break during which a panel of a psychologist and three psychiatrists assessed the double-amputee runner at a state psychiatric hospital in a process that was more exhaustive than that conducted by Dr. Merryll Vorster, a psychiatrist who testified for the defence. Pistorius said he feels vulnerable because of his disability and long-held worry about crime, Vorster had noted.

However, Nel only quoted briefly from the conclusions, and the entire reports were not publicly released, raising questions about what other findings they contained. Nel had requested an independent inquiry into Pistorius’ state of mind, suggesting that the defence might argue Pistorius was not guilty because of mental illness.

Pistorius has testified that he fired through a closed toilet door, killing Steenkamp, after mistakenly thinking there was a dangerous intruder in the toilet. The prosecution has alleged that Pistorius, 27, killed 29-year-old Steenkamp after a Valentine’s Day argument.

Pistorius faces 25 years to life in prison if found guilty of premeditated murder, and could also face years in prison if convicted of murder without premeditation or negligent killing. He is free on bail.

Later Monday, defence lawyer Barry Roux called surgeon Gerald Versfeld, who amputated Pistorius’ lower legs when he was 11 months old, to testify about the runner’s disability and the difficulty and pain he endured while walking or standing on his stumps without support. Pistorius was born without fibulas, the slender bones that run from below the knee to the ankle.

At Roux’s invitation, Judge Masipa and her two legal assistants left the dais to closely inspect the stumps of Pistorius as he sat on a bench.

The athlete was on his stumps when he killed Steenkamp, and his defence team has argued that he was more likely to try to confront a perceived danger rather than flee because of his limited ability to move without prostheses. Versfeld noted that Pistorius’ disability made him “vulnerable in a dangerous situation.”

During cross examination, Nel questioned Versfeld’s objectivity and raised the possibility that Pistorius could have run away from a perceived intruder on the night of the shooting. He also said Pistorius rushed back to his bedroom after the shooting and made other movements that indicated he was not as hampered as Versfeld was suggesting.

Roux, the chief defence lawyer, also called acoustics expert Ivan Lin to testify about the challenges of accurate hearing from a long distance.

Neighbours have said in court that they heard a woman screaming on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp, which could bolster the prosecution’s argument that the couple was arguing before Pistorius opened fire. The defence, however, has suggested they were actually hearing the high-pitched screams of a distraught Pistorius after realizing he had shot Steenkamp through the toilet door.

At times during the trial, Pistorius has sobbed and retched violently in apparent distress, forcing Judge Thokozile Masipa to call adjournments. On Monday, Pistorius was calm and took notes during testimony.

]]>PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius will start a period of psychiatric evaluation at a state institution next week, the judge at his murder trial ruled on Tuesday as she postponed court proceedings until June 30.

Judge Thokozile Masipa took just a few minutes to read out her ruling that the double-amputee Olympian must present himself at 9 a.m. on Monday and every weekday after that at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria.

Pistorius will be treated as an outpatient, Masipa ruled, and will be allowed to leave the facility in the South African capital each day at 4 p.m. or when “formally excused” by hospital authorities. His period of evaluation will be for no more than 30 days, the judge said, and will depend on how long a panel of four mental health experts needs to compile a report for the court.

Pistorius, who is charged with premeditated murder for fatally shooting his girlfriend last year, stood in the Pretoria courtroom with his hands crossed in front of him and looked at the judge as she explained her decision.

A psychiatrist called by Pistorius’ defence lawyers testified at the murder trial last week that she believed the runner had an anxiety disorder from childhood which may have contributed to him killing Reeva Steenkamp last year. That prompted the chief prosecutor to apply that he be sent for psychiatric tests.

Masipa said Tuesday that the panel of psychiatrists and psychologists would now determine whether any mental illness may have affected Pistorius’ capacity to be “criminally responsible” for killing Steenkamp. She said the panel would evaluate “whether he was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act or of acting in accordance with an appreciation of the wrongfulness of his act.”

Pistorius, 27, claims he shot Steenkamp, 29, by mistake through a toilet stall door in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013, thinking she was an intruder. Defence witness Dr. Merryll Vorster, the psychiatrist, testified that Pistorius had generalized anxiety disorder and his apparent fear of violent crime and his vulnerability as an amputee may have contributed to the killing.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel then asked the court to send him for mental evaluation to establish if he had a genuine disorder that could have affected his actions when he shot Steenkamp multiple times through the toilet door with his 9 mm pistol.

Pistorius could be acquitted on the grounds of mental illness. It could also be used by his defence team to argue for a lighter sentence if he is convicted of murder. The world-famous disabled athlete faces 25 years to life in prison if found guilty on the premeditated murder charge.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/judge-orders-oscar-pistorius-to-start-psychiatric-testing/feed/0Newsmakershttp://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-121/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-121/#commentsWed, 16 Apr 2014 16:11:54 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=541855In the news this week: Pistorius on the stand, Brazeau charged again and an oops from Kate Mulgrew

Cat in a hat: Web star Grumpy Cat—wearing a replica of Pharrell Williams’s infamous accessory—poses with fans at the MTV Movie Awards in L.A. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Ben Harper

The Prime Minister’s son will be attending Queen’s University next fall, as a star recruit for the men’s volleyball squad. The announcement, made via a school website this week, describes the six-foot-four teen as a “standout” outside hitter with “superior skills.” In an accompanying statement, the young Harper said he’s choosing Queen’s for its top-notch athletic facilities and school pride. Kingston, Ont., is only 200 km from 24 Sussex Drive. But the fact that his parents usually spend their weekends back in the PM’s Calgary riding should give the kid some room to cut loose.

Jonathan Fleming

For 25 years, the proof of his innocence sat buried in a police file. At his trial for the 1989 murder of a rival Brooklyn drug dealer, Fleming’s lawyer presented plenty of evidence to show that his client had been on a family trip to Disney World when the killing occurred. But the court chose to believe the prosecution’s contention that he snuck home to pull the trigger and sentenced Fleming to life. Now he’s a free man, thanks to a tattered hotel phone bill that proves he was truly in Florida at the time. The receipt had been brought up at his original trial, but detectives said they had no idea where it was.

Oscar Pistorius

The man known for his unshakable confidence on the track, is proving a wreck on the witness stand. Testifying in his own defence at his trial for the Valentine’s Day 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, the South African athlete repeatedly broke down, sobbing, retching and begging for forgiveness from her family. The man known as the Blade Runner maintains he shot through a bathroom door after mistaking her for an intruder. But the prosecution has been busy punching holes in his story, accusing him of “tailoring” his testimony and staging his emotional outbursts.

Patrick Brazeau

The disgraced Tory senator seems to be approaching rock bottom. After making headlines for taking a job at an Ottawa strip club to make ends meet during his suspension from the Red Chamber, the 39-year-old is in the news again following his arrest on domestic assault and cocaine possession charges. Brazeau, who was already awaiting trial on assault and sexual assault charges from 2013, has been released on $5,000 bail, and ordered to enter a drug and alcohol addiction treatment centre.

Kate Mulgrew

You would think that spending seven years portraying Capt. Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager would have taught the American actress a few space basics. Apparently not. Last week, she took to Facebook to apologize for her role as the narrator in the documentary The Principle, which argues that the sun revolves around the Earth instead of the other way round. Mulgrew says she was “misinformed” when she took the voicing gig and is not a geocentrist. She also disassociated herself from the film’s producer, Robert Sungenis, a noted Holocaust denier.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-121/feed/0Listen: 5 days of Pistorius testimony endshttp://www.macleans.ca/news/listen-pistorius-breaks-down-during-cross-examination/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/listen-pistorius-breaks-down-during-cross-examination/#commentsTue, 15 Apr 2014 22:27:41 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=541337 Defence wraps up its cross-examination of Pistorius after 5 emotional days on the stand

After five days on the stand, defence has wrapped up its cross-examination of Oscar Pistorius. On the stand, Pistorius struggled to maintain his composure as he testified at his trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. From retching to sobbing, his outbursts have been so disruptive that Judge Thokozile Masipa has had to adjourn court to give him a chance to compose himself.

Steenkamp was shot four times in the early morning of Feb. 14, 2013, through a bathroom door at the athlete’s home. While Pistorius admits to shooting Steenkamp, he claims he thought she was an intruder—a version of the Valentine’s Day events that prosecutor Gerrie Nel says the athlete “concocted.” Over the past week, Nel poked holes in his story, and argued that Steenkamp’s death sprung from a fight that led her to run screaming into the bathroom to hide from Pistorius.

The cross examination in a courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa has seen Nel erupt into fits of laughter and push the athlete to tears, in an attempt to make a case for premeditated murder. As Nel showed the courtroom photos of Steenkamp’s body, he urged Pistorius to take responsibility for his actions. “I’ve taken responsibility, but I will not look at a picture where I’m tormented by what I saw and felt that night,” said Pistorius, as he began to sob. “As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/listen-pistorius-breaks-down-during-cross-examination/feed/0Newsmakers: Ségolène Royal is backhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-118/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-118/#commentsWed, 09 Apr 2014 16:50:03 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=537511Kathy Gannon recovers from an attack in Afghanistan, and the Pistorius trial is hard to stomach

After a hiatus from France’s spotlight, the 60-year-old politician is back. Following a major cabinet shakeup, Royal is the new environment minister, a position awarded to her by French President François Hollande—her former partner and father of their four children. The seasoned Socialist, who was defeated in her bid to become president in 2007 by Nicolas Sarkozy, said she was “honoured” by the appointment. When Hollande and partner Valérie Trierweiler split in January, a source told French newspaper Le Monde, “The lights turned green for Ségolène’s comeback.”

Oscar Pistorius

The South African Paralympian’s trial has already been hard to watch. Three weeks ago, as the case began to decide whether the man nicknamed Blade Runner knowingly murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius vomited as the court displayed photos of Steenkamp’s body. On Monday, Pistorius took the stand to tell his side. Yet he spoke so quietly and quaveringly, the judge had to tell him to speak up. “I’m just very tired,” Pistorius said during his 90-minute testimony. “The weight of this is extremely overbearing.”

Kathy Gannon

On April 4, one day before Afghans headed to the polls, the veteran Canadian journalist and German photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus were in Khost province, sitting in a convoy of election workers off to deliver ballots. An Afghan police officer suddenly opened fire on those he was supposed to protect, killing Niedringhaus and leaving Gannon wounded. Gannon, who’s spent decades covering the region, and was born in Timmins, Ont., was said to be in stable condition after surgery. “She is in shock . . . more by Anja’s passing away than for herself,” Gannon’s husband, Naeem Pasha, told Canada AM.

Itzhak Perlman

It was the Chai Lifeline Canada charity that brought the violin virtuoso to Toronto for a performance at a benefit concert. And, after Air Canada’s shoddy treatment of the Israeli-American musician—abandoning the disabled 68-year-old at Pearson airport with his violin, luggage and crutches—it is the Chai Lifeline Charity that’s netted 500,000 Aeroplan Miles, donated by the airline to make up for their mistake. Perlman registered for a disability assistant to meet him at the gate, but his attendant was unhelpful and abandoned him at the elevators. No word on whether Perlman will be flying WestJet next time he comes to Toronto.

David Letterman and Barbara Walters

For the past 33 years, the two interviewing icons have sat at opposite ends of the television spectrum. Now they are joined together by their departures, with late-night’s Letterman, 66, and daytime’s Walters, 84, both taking the opportunity this week to announce their retirements. Walters will leave ABC’s The View on May 16, while Letterman will depart CBS’s Late Show in 2015.

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, won 100 per cent support in this week’s parliamentary election, according to state media (KCNA/Reuters)

Satoshi Nakamoto

To mark the relaunch of its print product, Newsweek produced a long, in-depth story about the mysterious founder of the equally mysterious online currency bitcoin, who was known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. The magazine’s story identified him as a 64-year-old California man who uses the full name Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto. However, after the article appeared, the one-time defence contractor ﬂatly denied being the creator of bitcoin, and repeatedly called it “bitcom.” The denial has led to a flood of theories about who the “real” Nakamoto is—or if he even exists.

Kendra Lindon

One frigid day in Calgary last month, this long-time school bus driver found her vehicle wouldn’t start. Unwilling to let her junior high school students freeze while she waited for the bus to be replaced, Lindon hopped into her SUV and drove six children to school herself. Her reward for going above and beyond from bus company First Student Canada? A quick dismissal for violating company policy, including letting two of the passengers ride in her car without seat belts. “I wasn’t thinking about the policies; I was strictly thinking about the kids,” she told CTV Calgary. A campaign to get Lindon her job back is already forming among local parents.

Al-Saadi Gadhafi

Being the child of a dictator has its perks, including a London mansion and a Toronto penthouse. But Saadi, one of deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s eight children, has finally seen his playboy days come to an end. After his father was overthrown and killed in 2011, Saadi escaped to Niger, where he spent several years under house arrest while the government weighed its options. Last week, he was extradited to Libya, where it’s still unknown whether he will receive a fair trial—or any trial at all.

Liz Wahl

Journalists don’t join Russia Today—the state-owned multilingual Russian TV network aimed at spreading the glory of Vladimir Putin to the rest of the world—to exercise objectivity. But after the invasion of Crimea, the network’s American correspondent decided she could only take so much, and resigned live on the air, declaring that her boss “whitewashes the actions of Putin.” Wahl later told the Daily Beast website that she had already been planning to leave in response to constant interference with her stories, and that people who want to get ahead at the network don’t question its editorial policies.

Oscar Pistorius

The Olympian’s trial in the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has quickly turned into a must-see national drama in South Africa, which has televised the proceedings since they began. Fortunately, audiences were spared a graphic moment this week when Pistorius, listening to testimony from a pathologist who detailed the crime scene, couldn’t stop himself from loudly retching and vomiting in court. Judge Thokozile Masipa, mercifully, banned the testimony’s broadcast.

He brushed it off as a “playful tiff” with his wife, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson. But the photograph, as usual, tells the truth. The British businessman and renowned art collector reached across a restaurant table and squeezed his wife’s throat, the fear in her eyes captured by a paparazzo’s camera. Lawson moved out a few days later, while police issued an assault caution against Saatchi.

George Zimmerman

A neighbourhood watch volunteer in Florida, Zimmerman spotted a “punk” during one of his patrols: a black teenager carrying a bag of Skittles. Moments later, Trayvon Martin was dead. Zimmerman claimed he shot the 17-year-old in self-defence, and was ultimately acquitted. But in the eyes of many Americans, Zimmerman got away with murder. Now, just four months after the verdict, he was arrested again and charged with aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a gun at his girlfriend.

Edward Burkhardt

When a train derailed in the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic—triggering multiple, massive explosions that killed 47 people—the president of the railway company added even more fuel to the flames with his cavalier remarks. Asked how he could sleep at night, Burkhardt replied: “If you’re tired, eventually you’ll sleep.” When asked how rich he is, he said not as wealthy as the week before.

Richie Incognito

The Miami Dolphins offensive lineman—a monster of a man who is anything but incognito—was suspended after allegedly harassing a teammate so incessantly that he stormed out of practice and never came back. Reports say Incognito sent racist and threatening text messages to Jonathan Martin, and even forced him to fork over $15,000 for a team trip he didn’t attend. Some bullies never grow up.

Bob Nazarian

The owner of Elliot Lake’s doomed shopping mall finally took the witness stand, but his appearance at a public inquiry only reinforced the feeling around town: that he deserves much of the blame for the tragic roof collapse that killed two women. Nazarian admitted that he didn’t thoroughly repair the roof because the mall was a “black hole” and he doesn’t throw money “down the drain.”

Vladimir Putin

With its president’s blessing, Russia introduced a new law that punishes citizens who disseminate homosexual “propaganda.” Fines will be handed out to anyone who distributes information, particularly to minors, that may cause a “distorted understanding” of “non-traditional” relationships. Of course, Putin insists anyone—gay, straight or otherwise—is welcome at the Sochi Winter Games. If backpedalling were an Olympic event, he’d win the gold.

Oscar Pistorius

Speaking of Olympics, the South African track star won’t be attending one anytime soon. A double amputee dubbed “Blade Runner” because of the prostheses he raced in, Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The 26-year-old insists he shot her by accident, mistaking the person in his bathroom for an intruder.

The Tsarnaev Brothers

Chechen immigrants Tamerlan, 26, and Dzhokhar, 20, spent their formative years in a Massachusetts suburb—playing sports, smoking weed, and becoming American citizens. Yet there they were, walking the sidelines of the Boston Marathon with pressure-cooker bombs hidden in their backpacks. Their homemade devices killed three people, injured nearly 300 others and triggered the one question that still lingers: Why?

Via Rail plotters

As Boston mourned its dead, Canadians were reminded—yet again—that our country remains a terrorist target, too. Raed Jaser, a failed Palestinian refugee claimant, and Chiheb Esseghaier, a Montreal doctoral student from Tunisia, were arrested in connection with an al-Qaeda-sponsored plot to attack a Via Rail passenger train.

Lance Armstrong

A doping denier for so many years, the seven-time Tour de France champion finally fessed up—to Oprah Winfrey. But although he admitted his historic cycling feats were fuelled by performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong said he didn’t technically “cheat.” He doped, he said, to “level the playing field.”

Jeffrey Delisle

Distraught over the breakdown of his marriage, the Canadian naval intelligence officer walked into the Russian Embassy in Ottawa and walked out a traitor. Over the next 4½ years, Delisle sold classified NATO secrets to the enemy, profiting by more than $111,000. The first person ever convicted under Canada’s Security of Information Act, he was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

Oscar Pistorius will return to court March 3 to face murder charges in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The former Olympian, a double amputee, appeared in a Pretoria courtroom earlier today where he was indicted on charges of premeditated murder. He will also be charged with illegal possession of ammunition.

Steenkamp died early in the morning of Feb. 14 from gunshot wounds fired through a locked bathroom door at the athlete’s mansion in a gated community.

Writes Maclean’s Jonathon Gatehouse:

Pistorius’s version is that he awoke in the dark, heard a noise and concluded that an intruder was in the house. Arming himself, he hobbled into the bathroom on the stumps of his legs, and when his shouts went unanswered, opened fire. It was only when he returned to the bedroom and noticed that his 29-year-old girlfriend was missing that the truth dawned.

The police contend it was premeditated murder.

“When you talk of intentional, it’s premeditated. Intentional. He wanted to do that,” prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku told the Associated Press on Monday. “In as far as a sound case, let the court decide on that. We believe it will go through in our favour.”

The prosecution’s charge sheet reveals that it has more than 100 witnesses it plans to call when the trial gets underway.

Today would have been Steenkamp’s 30th birthday. An uncle told British papers that the family planned to observe the day together in Port Elizabeth.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-indicted-on-murder-charges/feed/0Oscar Pistorius family releases statement, lashes out at social media usershttp://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-releases-statement-lashes-out-a-social-media-users/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-releases-statement-lashes-out-a-social-media-users/#commentsThu, 11 Apr 2013 13:43:24 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=370377Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
The family of South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February, is lashing out at social…

The family of South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February, is lashing out at social media users who they say are disregarding the pain Steenkamp’s family is going through.

“The disregard that is being shown by some — specifically those commenting via social media — for the profound pain that Reeva’s family and friends are going through is very troubling. There is not a moment in the day that Oscar does not mourn for his girlfriend and Reeva’s family, and all those who were close to her are in his thoughts constantly.”

Pistorius maintains that he shot Steenkamp by accident when his mistook her for an intruder in the bathroom of his Pretoria home. Prosecutors say that Steenkamp was hiding in the bathroom when Pistorius intentionally shot her.

Anneliese Burgess, who is acting as a spokesperson for the Pistorius family, told South African media that Pistorius has, indeed, spent time with those close to Steenkamp in the past weeks to share memories of his slain girlfriend. “For Oscar, the process is incredibly overwhelming as he struggles not only to deal with manner in which he lost his girlfriend, but also his role in it,” Burgess said.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-releases-statement-lashes-out-a-social-media-users/feed/1Oscar Pistorius can race, trial or no trialhttp://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-can-race-trial-or-no-trial/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-can-race-trial-or-no-trial/#commentsThu, 28 Mar 2013 18:04:40 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=365707Themba Hadebe/AP
Sprinter Oscar Pistorius could take to the track at the summer’s World Championships—despite facing trial for allegedly murdering his girlfriend.
A South African judge ruled Thursday that the…

Sprinter Oscar Pistorius could take to the track at the summer’s World Championships—despite facing trial for allegedly murdering his girlfriend.

A South African judge ruled Thursday that the track star’s bail conditions allow him to leave the country as long as he provides an itinerary at least a week before leaving, according to an Associated Press report. His passport will be held by the court when he’s not jetting off for international competitions, according to the ruling, which included a number of wins for Pistorius’s legal team. Among them: Pistorius can now return to the home where he shot girlfriend and model Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14; he does not have to be regularly supervised by a probation order; he does not have to report regularly to a police station; and he can drink alcohol.

Peet van Zyl, Pistorius’s agent, told the news agency that the sprinting star known as the Blade Runner hasn’t trained for two months and will make his own decision about whether and when to start racing again.

“He has no desire to compete now but it might change and it will change,” defense lawyer Barry Roux told the court during the appeal hearing.

Prosecutors opposed easing bail restrictions. Pistorius has been out on a $108,000 bail after admitting to the shooting. He has claimed it was an accident. Prosecutors argue he intentionally killed Steenkamp after a quarrel.

]]>Lawyers representing Olympian Oscar Pistorius are asking a judge to lighten up restrictive bail conditions imposed on the track athlete as he awaits his trial for the pre-meditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/lawyers-representing-oscar-pistorius-ask-for-looser-bail-conditions/feed/1The strange and dangerous world of Oscar Pistoriushttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-from-the-podium-to-purgatory/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-from-the-podium-to-purgatory/#commentsFri, 01 Mar 2013 18:35:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=355220Jonathon Gatehouse and Stephanie Findlay on the acclaimed Olympian who was just sentenced to five years in jail.

Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. This story, originally published March 1, 2013, year delves into the world of an athlete who fell from glory as global inspiration during the London 2012 Games, to a man charged with murder.

It was, by all accounts, an accident. Although not one that Oscar Pistorius was willing to take responsibility for. Out for dinner with his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and a bunch of other rich, young athletes and hangers-on at a trendy Johannesburg restaurant this past January, the man they call the Blade Runner was admiring someone else’s gun, when it suddenly went off. The bullet slammed into the floor just centimetres from the foot of Kevin Lerena, an up-and-coming heavyweight boxer. “The KO Kid,” as he is known, would later explain to reporters that the pistol’s safety catch had somehow snagged on Pistorius’s pants, and that the world’s most famous disabled sprinter had been more than contrite. “He apologized to me for days afterwards,” said Lerena. But when the restaurant manager hurried over to determine the source of the ear-shattering explosion, everyone at the table denied knowledge. And none of the other patrons came forward, so the police were never called. Being a national hero and internationally recognized celebrity apparently buys one a lot of leeway in South Africa.

But Pistorius’s next gun incident could hardly be swept under the table. Early in the morning of Feb. 14, the 26-year-old pumped four shots through a locked toilet door at his mansion in a high-security gated community outside the city, striking Steenkamp three times. Minutes later, she would die in his arms.

Pistorius’s version is that he awoke in the dark, heard a noise and concluded that an intruder was in the house. Arming himself, he hobbled into the bathroom on the stumps of his legs, and when his shouts went unanswered, opened fire. It was only when he returned to the bedroom and noticed that his 29-year-old girlfriend was missing that the truth dawned.

The police contend it was premeditated murder. Neighbours saw the lights on and heard the pair fighting, they say. Ballistics evidence shows the shots were fired downward, suggesting the athlete was wearing his prostheses at the time. And he has a history of violent and threatening behaviour, including past allegations of domestic assault.

It was just seven months ago, during the London 2012 Games, that Pistorius was being feted as a global inspiration for becoming the first amputee to compete in an Olympic track event. That the seven-time Paralympic medallist wasn’t nearly as fast as the hype predicted, finishing last in his 400-m semifinal, hardly mattered. The media, and public, couldn’t get enough of the polite and modest South African who shattered so many stereotypes. So too with sponsors like Nike, Oakley sunglasses, and French designer Thierry Mugler, who had already signed the photogenic Pistorius to endorsement deals totalling more than $2 million a year. Lately, he had been tooling around Johannesburg in a new silver convertible MP4-12C Spider McLaren supercar, worth $405,000. Although, as always, he refused to avail himself of the handicapped-parking spaces.

Now, he is suddenly notorious. Within hours of his arrest, M-Net, a South African TV broadcaster, starting pulling down Pistorius’s image from its billboards. Nike, Oakley and other sponsors have all cancelled their contracts. His bail hearing—where, unlike in Canada, all the evidence could be published—quickly degenerated into an O.J. Simpson-style legal circus, much to the delight of the crush of international media packed into Pretoria Magistrates Court. (An electrician was kept on standby, lest the straining air-conditioning system short out and plunge the building into darkness.)

With his father, sister and brother sitting behind him, Pistorius wept frequently during the week of hearings. Yet Steenkamp’s family, who stayed away, complained that, beyond a bouquet of flowers, he has shown no inclination to explain himself to them. In a two-hour oral ruling delivered Feb. 22, Desmond Nair, the chief magistrate, found fault with the sloppy police investigation of the killing (the lead detective has been removed from the case after it emerged that he himself is facing attempted murder charges for indiscriminately firing his gun at a minibus during a car chase). But Nair also underlined the wide gaps in logic in the runner’s tale of how he came to kill his girlfriend. Still, before setting Pistorius free on $115,000 bail and under condition that he surrender his passport, abstain from alcohol and possess no guns, Nair granted one of the country’s most famous sons a further favour, clearing photographers and camera operators from the room. The click of shutters and flash bursts every time he stood in the dock was too distracting and humilitating, the magistrate said, as though Pistorius were “some kind of species the world has never seen before.” It was as if the judge hadn’t been keeping up with the news.

There was one rule above all others in the house where Oscar Pistorius grew up: no one was allowed to say “I can’t.” It applied to his older brother, Carl. It applied to his little sister, Aimee. And it applied, surely a little unfairly at times, to Oscar.

After he was born without fibula, a bone that runs from below the knee to the ankle, in both his legs, Oscar underwent a double amputation just below the knees at the age of 11 months. It wasn’t the only route—a series of reconstructive surgeries was also an option—but it was the one his parents, Henke and Sheila, judged to be the surest path to a normal life. So Oscar learned to walk on his stumps, began running on his first set of prostheses at 17 months, and has never really slowed down since.

His autobiography, Blade Runner, penned in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was just barely in his 20s, describes a childhood that would put most able-bodied kids to shame: long family hikes through the South African wilderness, epic bike rides and pretty much every other activity under the sun, from go-karting to water-skiing. Raised in a sports-mad culture and by an apparently barking-mad father—Henke made Oscar’s weekly allowance dependent on doing gymnastics and gave him his first set of dumbbells at age 4—Oscar had little choice but to embrace all types of physical activity. By the time he was 6 in 1992, he was playing tennis and cricket—and wrestling competitively, where for once his heavy artificial legs provided an advantage, anchoring him to the mat. Grappling gave him his first trip to the top of the podium. “The first time you win an award is an unforgettable moment,” Pistorius wrote. “You are enveloped in a warm buzz of emotions—pride, happiness and the acute sense of recognition that comes from applause from your loved ones. It is addictive, almost like a drug—but a positive drug, pushing you forward to greater success.”

It was the same year his parents divorced. For a time, money was tight—Henke, a mine owner, had declared bankruptcy—but Oscar and his siblings remained members of the privileged class, attending top-drawer schools in their hometown of Johannesburg. And Oscar followed Carl to Pretoria Boys High School, an elite English-language boarding school with six rugby fields, two cricket pitches, separate pools for swimming and water polo and its own shooting range. He was just 15 when Sheila, a nurturing and religious woman who used to leave notes with bits of scripture or poetry in her kids’ lunch boxes, died from a drug reaction following surgery. (On his right arm, he has her birth and death dates tattooed in Roman numerals, and on his back, a further memorial, a verse from 1 Corinthians, which begins, “I do not run like a man running aimlessly.”) “Sports was my salvation,” Pistorius wrote, as he committed himself even more fiercely to water polo and rugby. But it wasn’t until he injured a knee playing the latter that he ever considered track.

Counselled by his doctor to take up sprinting as part of his rehab, Oscar found he had an aptitude—and, running on purpose-built carbon fibre blades, speed to burn. After just three weeks of training, he ran his first-ever 100-m race in January 2004, beating a field of two-legged high schoolers with a time of 11.72 seconds. The result became even more impressive when his father did some research on the Net and discovered that Oscar had shattered the world record for double amputees by almost half a second. Within a month, he had shaved another two-tenths off the mark. The story proved irresistible to the South African media. Soon Pistorius was starring in a TV commercial, had scored an endorsement deal with a prosthesis maker and was able to buy a car.

He dominated at the South African Disabled Games, his first-ever competition against other amputees, and secured a spot on the team for that fall’s Paralympics in Athens. In his debut race on the world stage, the 100-m, he captured a bronze. But it was his performance in the 200-m that really got people talking. After falling in the heats and barely squeaking into the final, he was particularly nervous in the blocks and was the last to react when the starter’s gun went off. But despite spotting the rest of the field—all of them single amputees—almost two seconds, Pistorius managed to reel them in and take the gold in a world-record time of 21.97. He returned home to South Africa a national hero. He was just 17.

As his times steadily improved over the next couple of years, Pistorius let it be known that he had a new goal: to become the first amputee to run at the Olympics. The international media started to take notice of the cocky kid with the made-for-headlines nickname. And so did track’s governing body, the IAAF, which commissioned a scientific study to determine whether his carbon blades were giving him some sort of artificial advantage. The January 2008 report concluded he used 25 per cent less effort to move his lightweight lower limbs than able-bodied athletes, as well as gaining a significant advantage in flexibility and energy transfer. He was banned from regular track and field competitions.

Pistorius appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and managed to have the decision overturned. (The scientists had done their calculations on the basis of him running at top speed in a straight line, not factoring in the significant disadvantages he faced at the start and when rounding corners, which made his blades a net wash.) But the reversal came too late for him to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. At the Paralympics that September, he won gold in the 100-m, 200-m and 400-m, setting world records in each event. His accomplishments, and the controversy surrounding them, had made Oscar Pistorius not just a famous disabled athlete, but one of the most bankable sporting figures in the world.

For those now trying to build the case that pride indeed comes before the fall, Exhibit A is probably Vesta and Valcan, Oscar’s pet white tigers, purchased at a cost of $45,000 each, because the animal he really wanted—a cheetah—makes a lousy pet. (Pistorius kept them on a game reserve near his home and visited regularly until they became too big to play with. In the run-up to London, he reportedly sold them to an unnamed Canadian zoo.) Or maybe the hubris can be traced even further back to a 2008 CD entitled Olympic Dreams, featuring two original spoken-word tracks, as well as disco remixes of songs he found inspirational. Or more recently, there are the multiple homes, stable of thoroughbred horses, business ventures—including a company that services Ferraris—and his own growing collection of flashy cars and powerful motorcycles.

It would certainly have been easy enough for Pistorius to develop a sense of entitlement, or inflated importance, based on the way he was routinely treated by the press. Back in 2008, even before the Beijing Games, Time placed him on its list of 100 most influential people, alongside Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Oprah Winfrey in the “heroes and pioneers” category. The BBC has named him its sports personality of the year, GQ has rated him among the best-dressed men in the world, and a South African magazine once declared him the country’s “sexiest” celebrity.

And there has been no shortage of beautiful women on his arm—almost all of them blond swimsuit models. Sometimes the relationships have been volatile. In his 2008 autobiography, Pistorius devoted considerable ink to Vicky Miles, a girl he started dating in high school and had recently broken up with, recalling how he surprised her one Valentine’s Day by leaving 200 balloons outside her house and painting “I Love You Tiger” on the road. But he also wrote of their “fiery” rows, including one meltdown over the phone after which he resolved to drive all night from Durban to Johannesburg to patch things up—a distance of 650 km. He ended up falling asleep at the wheel and plowing his car into a guardrail.

And since Steenkamp’s killing, other darker stories have started to emerge. In 2009, Pistorius was jailed for 17 hours and charged with common assault after a friend of his then-girlfriend claimed he slammed a door on her. (The case was dropped and Pistorius, who claims it was an accident, is now suing her for $2.2 million in compensation for lost sponsorships.) Following the London Olympics, there was reportedly a spat with a wealthy TV producer over another one of his exes. When their paths crossed at a local racetrack, Pistorius threatened to break the man’s legs and got into a swearing match with one of his friends. The runner “is a different man from the image out there,” the friend later told the Star newspaper. “He carries a gun everywhere and I have seen him be controlling to women.” The woman in question, Samantha Taylor, told another paper Pistorius is the ultimate “player” and “certainly not what people think he is.” And following Steenkamp’s death, Taylor’s mother posted a message on Facebook that garnered a lot of attention: “I am so glad that Sammy is safe and sound and out of the clutches of that man—there were a few occasions where things could have gone wrong with her and his gun during the time they dated.”

And although private gun ownership is common in South Africa, a crime-riddled country with a militaristic past, much is suddenly being made with Pistorius’s open love of firearms. In his book, he devotes several pages to a 2006 incident in which he was detained at the Amsterdam airport after his artificial legs tested positive for gun powder residue. (He had spent a day shooting with friends a week before.) And the 9-mm pistol he kept in his bedroom seemed to have worked its way into almost every profile ever written about him. (Prior to London, he took a New York Times Magazine writer to the range and taught him to shoot.) Since his arrest, it has emerged that he had applied for permits for six more weapons, including a rifle and three shotguns in late January. And even his father Henke’s own embarrassing gun past has become tabloid fodder. In the early 1970s, he reportedly shot himself in the testicles while cleaning a revolver in the presence of a woman who went on to become Miss World. He wasn’t badly injured, but Henke’s friends still shake their heads. “You don’t hold your pistol between your legs when you’re cleaning it,” said one university chum.

Layer on the 2009 speedboat crash against a submerged pier that left the then-22-year-old Oscar in intensive care with two broken ribs and lacerations to his face that required 172 stitches, and you get the element of recklessness. (Although no charges were laid, police reportedly found many empty alcohol bottles aboard.) Or his strained relationship with Henke, who was briefly his manager at the start of his career, but is now relegated to the status of “mate,” for pathos. And all the elements that used to make Pistorius unique and interesting, but now seem to suggest a troubled and unhappy soul.

The runner’s personal journey has always somehow been imbued with larger meaning. In the wider world, and especially at home in South Africa, he stood as a symbol of perseverance and progress. “The story of a disfigured man rising above his own unfortunate history to shine heroically is in sync with the mythology of a country disfigured by apartheid,” Niren Tolsi, a columnist for Johannesburg’s Mail and Guardian wrote recently. So too now, with those who choose to embrace his shoot-first narrative of fear, which speaks to continuing problems of crime, inequality and racism.

At Pistorius’s alma mater, Pretoria Boys High, a slice of the colonial past where students wear khaki uniforms with knee-high green socks and address men as “sir” and women as “ma’am,” the shock waves are palpable. The school takes considerable pride in the many cricket players, rugby stars and other athletes it has nurtured over the years, displaying their plaques and awards and enshrining them in their own hall of fame. For the moment, the considerable tribute to Pistorius remains. But second master John Illsley, who has been on staff for over 20 years, says the school has already started to grapple with what might lie ahead. “We’re trying to get over the shock of an icon going from that status, to this.” The day after the shooting, Illsley led a special assembly to teach the boys to “appreciate the value of life.” It was an emotional gathering, he says.

For the moment, Pistorius remains free, living with an aunt and uncle in another gated mansion in a leafy suburb of Pretoria. His long-time coach has expressed hope that he will soon be able to return to the track and resume training. He needs “to get his mind kind of clear,” says Ampie Louw. “The sooner he can start working, the better.” As of yet, there are no plans for Pistorius to return to competition, but his lawyers are already campaigning to relax his bail conditions.

None of this is a comfort to the family of Reeva Steenkamp. Neither is the news—announced via a press release—of the sprinter’s intention to hold a “private memorial service” for his victim.

Pistorius has a life motto he cites frequently in interviews: “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.” And over the years, he has campaigned harder and more effectively than anyone to be judged by his deeds alone. Some months from now, he will be granted that wish. It’s just that the venue, audience and circumstances won’t be the ones he imagined.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/oscar-pistorius-from-the-podium-to-purgatory/feed/10Carl Pistorius faces charges in 2010 death of motorcyclisthttp://www.macleans.ca/general/carl-pistorius-faces-charges-in-2010-death-of-motorcyclist/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/carl-pistorius-faces-charges-in-2010-death-of-motorcyclist/#commentsSun, 24 Feb 2013 11:05:40 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=353676The Pistorius name tops headlines from South Africa Sunday morning, though at this hour it is Carl Pistorius who is making news.
The family’s lawyer has confirmed reports that the…

]]>Oscar Pistorius is facing murder charges in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and has broken down into tears and suffered bouts of retching during his trial in Pretoria, South Africa. While prosecutors argue that her shooting was premeditated murder, Pistorius says he shot Steenkamp because he mistook her for an intruder. The trial is expected to continue into May 2014. This story, originally published Feb. 23, 2013, explores the place Pistorius holds in the public imagination, and the way media coverage has dehumanized Steenkamp while burnishing Pistorius’s legend.

Celebrity logic—that distorted rationale that applies to the rich and famous— was on full display Friday when South African magistrate Desmond Nair ruled Oscar Pistorius, charged with premeditated murder, had not been proven to be a flight risk or to have a “propensity for violence” as he released the star athlete on bail of one-million rand ($110,079). Apparently the fact Pistorius fired four bullets into a bathroom door without warning and with intent to kill—be it an intruder (his version) or the model Reeva Steenkamp (the prosecution’s version)—doesn’t count as a “propensity for violence” or any sort of public threat.

Such is Pistorius’s blinding celebrity wattage that his history of alleged threatening, reckless behaviour rhymed off at the hearing didn’t sway the judge either. But, then again, why would it? None ever amounted to more than allegations. In September 2009, Pistorius spent a night in custody being charged with assaulting 19-year-old Cassidy Taylor-Memory during a party at his house; he was accused of slamming a door on her, charges dropped due to lack of evidence. Last November he was accused of threatening to assault a man in an altercation about a woman at a racetrack, and told another man that he would “break his legs.” Pistorius has a record of public gunplay as well: In January, he accidentally discharged a gun in a Johannesburg restaurant, then asked its owner, a friend, to take responsibility for the incident. More recently, he applied to increase his own gun arsenal by six, presumably to protect himself against the country’s infamous gun culture. A glowing 2012 New York Times profile, that referred to Pistorius as “risk-taking” and “a little bit crazy,” quotes him saying he goes to the gun range when he can’t sleep.

Reports from the night of Steenkamp’s Valentine’s murder also have violent undertones, though again nothing has been proven. Neighbours allege they saw lights and heard fighting in the house, accounts disputed by the defence. The morning after the shooting, police spokeswoman Denise Beukes revealed there had “previously been incidents at the home of Mr. Pistorius—allegations of a domestic nature.” “Domestic” problems, clearly, aren’t a “public” threat. Beukes added the national hero would get “no special treatment whatever,” notwithstanding presumably the international press conference she was currently holding.

But claims that Pistorius’s vaunted status conferred special treatment are long-standing. In 2009, after he crashed his speedboat on the Vaal River, sustaining serious head injuries, the police investigated possible reckless and negligent behaviour on his part but decided not to prosecute. The Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld reported police found empty bottles of alcohol on the boat, but didn’t test Pistorius for alcohol use. Shortly after, Pistorius stopped press photographers from taking pictures of a car accident in which a friend knocked over a pedestrian who died on the scene. Asked why they couldn’t, the athlete answered, “Because I am Oscar Pistorius,” according to Beeld. Now questions have been raised about how Pistorius obtained a 2010 licence for the very handgun that killed Steenkamp, given his history with the law.

The answer is simple: He is Oscar Pistorius, an athlete who occupies a different plane in the public imagination than other revered sports icons—more than Lance Armstrong, more than Tiger Woods, more than OJ. He’s the Blade Runner, an supra-human character who awed and inspired—and replaced the pejorative “disabled” with “differently abled” when he participated in the Olympics medal in 2011. Thus the cognitive dissonance now, seen in this recent headlines this one, which refers to Pistorius as a former “seemingly perfect hero,” despite years of contradictory evidence.

That includes Pistorius’s famously bad behaviour after placing second to Brazilian Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira in the T44 200m final at the 2012 London Paralympics, where he also won gold. He lashed out publicly, claiming Oliverira’s blades were too long and he’d cheated. At first, the IPC threatened to punish Pistorius. Then, after he apologized, they rewarded him by putting him on the shortlist for the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award as a competitor ”who is fair, honest and is uncompromising in his or her values and prioritizes the promotion of the Paralympic Movement above personal recognition.” When a journalist questioned the IPC communications director about Pistorius’s being included, he was told: “Oscar had done so much for the Paralympic Movement in the build-up to these Games that he deserved to be there.” In other words, nobody wants actual behaviour to interfere with the legend.

Now that’s going to be tricky. Even judge Nair acknowledged major inconsistencies in the defence’s statement, a document Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson rightly refers to as having “more holes than a colander.” (The big questions: Why did Steenkamp lock the bathroom door in middle of the night? Why didn’t Pistorius account or listen for her?) Pearson points out Pistorius’s first call was not to get help for a woman he claimed to “deeply love,” but to his spin doctor, Stuart Higgins, a well-known “crisis communications” expert. His influence is evident on Pistorius’s revamped website, which presents the athlete and his family suffering foremost from Steenkamp’s death.

All will be on full display at the June “Oscar Pistorius murder trial,” a media descriptor that suggests he, and not Reeva Steenkamp, is the victim. Likewise “The Blade” and “The Blonde” narrative embraced by the press reframes the tragedy as a grotesque Disney cartoon: it dehumanizes Steenkamp while burnishing Pistorius’s legend. It’s language you’d expect from the New York Post with its “Blade Slays Blonde” headline and cover photo of Steenkamp in a bikini. But, as Leigh Ann Renzulli observes, even respected news sources like Washington Post referred to Steenkamp as “a leggy blonde” after her death. More troubling is its descriptor of the murdered woman: “While known for her bikini-clad, vamping photo spreads, she tweeted messages urging women to stand up against rape.” The sentence speaks volumes about entrenched attitudes: it’s noteworthy that a woman who dresses provocatively would object to sexual assault. The Reeva Steenkamp murder case may have put the lens on South Africa as misogyny ground zero, but its coverage indicates no one is exempt. Whether that includes the beloved celebrity who killed her remains to be seen.

Photographers take photos of Oscar Pistorius as he stands in the dock during his bail hearing at the magistrates court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. (Themba Hadebe/AP)

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius will be released on bail after being charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Magistrate Desmond Nair made the decision after hearing three days of testimony during a bail hearing.

Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder after he shot Steenkamp in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day. The defence argued that Pistorius had shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder. The prosecution argued that the shooting was intentional and that Pistorius shot Steenkamp as she hid behind a locked bathroom door.

Nair made his decision after speaking for nearly two hours. He recalled the testimony presented at the bail hearing over three days and went over the history of bail in the country.

Pistorius, who has been emotional throughout the bail hearing, cried as Nair read the defence’s version of events on the night Steenkamp was killed and, at one point, Nair stopped to ask Pistorius if he was OK. Pistorius’ sister, Aimee, also wiped away tears as she watched her brother cry.

Nair said that, during the bail hearing, the state had failed to prove that Pistorius was a flight risk. Nor had the state proven that Pistorius had a propensity to commit violence or that he would interfere with state witnesses, if released, Nair said. “None of the factors that need to be established have been established,” he said.

Before giving his decision, Nair had harsh criticism for Hilton Botha, the police officer who was the lead investigator in the case until he was replaced on Thursday after it was revealed that he was facing seven counts of attempted murder stemming from an unrelated incident in 2011. Botha made several mistakes while investigating, Nair said. He may have contaminated the crime scene, he failed to obtain potentially valuable records for cell phones found at the crime scene and “he blundered” when needles thought to be used for testosterone injections were found at the scene.

However, Botha’s mistakes don’t mean that the state’s case against Pistorius will be compromised, Nair pointed out. “It can never be said that Warrant Officer Hilton Botha is the state police,” Nair said.

Notably, Nair also said that he would approach the charges against Pistorius as a schedule 6 offence for the time being, meaning that Pistorius will face the most serious charge of premeditated murder and not a lesser charge, as his defence had hoped. “I am not here, at this point in time, to find the accused guilty of premeditated murder,” Nair said, noting that will be up to a judge during the actual trial. A schedule 6 offence carries the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

The strict conditions of bail, as outlined by Nair, are as follows:

Appear in person in court in June 2013, and at all other required appearances afterward

Surrender all passports and travel documents

Refrain from applying for any additional passports

Don’t enter the international departures area of any airport

Surrender all firearms, and can’t obtain any new firearms

Can’t communicate with any prosecution witnesses

Will be placed under supervision by a correctional official and a probation officer, with a weekly report from the probation officer

Inform correctional official of all movements within Pretoria

Inform correctional official about any planned trips outside of Pretoria

Give a cell phone number to both correctional official and probation officer, and be available at that number during any time of the day or night

Can’t be charged with any additional charges pertaining to violence against women

No drugs or alcohol allowed, and random testing is allowed at any time

Can’t return to his former gated community in Silver Woods Estate, or make contact with anyone who lives there, apart from his extended family

The biggest news from the third day of the bail hearing for Olympain Oscar Pistorius came from outside the court, as The Associated Press reported that the lead investigator in the case, Detective Hilton Botha, is facing attempted murder charges stemming from a shooting in 2011.

Inside the Pretoria courtroom, prosecutor Gerrie Nel confirmed that the reports about Botha were, indeed, true, but said that the prosecution didn’t know about the charges when they called him to the witness stand on the previous day.

After Nel addressed the charges, Botha entered the courtroom where he took the stand again to be questioned about phone records by Magistrate Desmond Nair. Police found several phones at the scene of the shooting, but Brotha said he had not yet received the phone records for both Pistorius and his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and there was, at present, no way to tell whether calls had been made between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. when the shooting took place.

Lead defence counsel Barry Roux continued to argue that the charges against Pistorius should be downgraded to a lesser charge. The current charge of premeditated murder, alleging that Pistorius planned to shoot and kill Steenkamp on the night of Feb. 14, carries the greatest possible sentence of 25 years in prison. The downgraded charges the defence is pushing for — from “schedule 6″ to “schedule 5″ as the South African justice system calls it — would also make it more likely for Pistorius to be granted bail.

Roux also presented his closing arguments and made his case for granting Pistorius bail, saying that Pistorius showed that he wanted to save Steenkamp when he carried her downstairs, from the bathroom where he shot her after he mistook her for an intruder. (The prosecution argued Wednesday that the position of Steenkamp’s body showed that she was likely hiding behind the locked door, not using the toilet, as the defence argues.) Roux also refuted evidence from the previous day where witnesses said they heard arguing from Pistorius’ home on the night of the shooting.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel then delivered his final arguments, saying the defence has “failed to provide any examples of exceptional circumstances” which should allow Pistorius to be granted bail. Nel argued that Pistorius is “a man of means” and that he has the money to flee South Africa, should he choose to do so, and he should not be granted bail.

Court adjourned after both lawyers gave their closing arguments. A decision as to whether Pistorius should be granted bail is likely to occur Friday when court resumes at 10 a.m. local time.

Also on Thursday, The Associated Press reported that Nike has suspended its contract with Pistorius. “We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the company said in a statement on its website.

The lead investigator in the Oscar Pistorius case, Hilton Botha, is now facing his own attempted murder charges, the media has learned on the day after he took the stand at Pistorius’ bail hearing.

The prosecution’s case against Olympic athlete Pistorius, who has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, took another blow Thursday when police were forced to admit that lead investigator Botha is facing reinstated charges from a shooting in 2011.

The Associated Press reports: “Botha was summoned by the magistrate on Thursday after police said charges have been reinstated against him in connection with a 2011 shooting incident in which he and two other officers allegedly fired at a minibus.”

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority called the timing of the reinstated charges “totally weird” and recommended that Botha be removed from the case.

The prosecuting authority, which oversees court cases in the country, has called a press conference for 4 p.m. local time to discuss the matter. Journalists covering the case are speculating that Botha will be replaced with investigator Mike Van Aardt at that time.

UPDATE: Local news station EWN, which first broke the news about Botha’s attempted murder charges, reports that the lead investigator has been removed from the case. He will be replaced with Lieutenant-General Vinesh Moonoo, the station reports.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/lead-investigator-in-oscar-pistorius-case-facing-attempted-murder-charges/feed/0Why are journalists allowed to report on the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing?http://www.macleans.ca/general/why-are-journalists-allowed-to-report-on-the-oscar-pistorius-bail-hearing/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/why-are-journalists-allowed-to-report-on-the-oscar-pistorius-bail-hearing/#commentsWed, 20 Feb 2013 15:42:57 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=352634While journalists are forbidden from reporting on almost everything that happens during bail hearings in Canada, there are all kinds of headlines coming out of the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing…

]]>While journalists are forbidden from reporting on almost everything that happens during bail hearings in Canada, there are all kinds of headlines coming out of the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing in South Africa. Here’s why.

In the South Africa, the justice system is based on Roman-Dutch law and there are no juries. Since there are no juries, a judge, sitting alongside two assessors, will preside over the Pistorius case when it eventually goes to trial. The thought is that a judge won’t be swayed by pre-trial reporting in the same way a jury would, so journalists are free to report as they wish.

South Africa used juries at one point, but that system was abolished in the 1930s due to racial concerns. Before that, only white people were allowed to sit on a jury, meaning a black defendant would never get a fair trail. There was a discussion about bringing a jury system back after the country gained independence, but “given South Africa’s 11 official languages, it would have been prohibitively expensive to hire interpreters,” reports The Guardian.

The death penalty was abolished in South Africa in 1995. If convicted of a charge of premeditated murder, Pistorius could face a life sentence of up to 25 years in jail.

To compare, bail hearings in Canada are open to the public, including journalists, but the only things that can be reported from the hearing are the judge’s decision and the conditions of bail. In Canada, publishing details of the case before it goes to trial are strictly forbidden.

A bail hearing for former Olympian Oscar Pistorius will continue into a third day, decided Magistrate Desmond Nair after the conclusion of a second day of testimony in a Pretoria courtroom.

Pistorius, the athlete who became known as “blade runner” because of his artificial legs, is accused of premeditated murder. Prosecutors say he shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, while she was hiding in the bathroom of his east Pretoria home. On Tuesday, court heard the defence argument that Pistorius mistook Steenkamp for a burglar as he fired four shots through the locked bathroom door.

In testimony Wednesday, the court heard from investigating officer Hilton Botha. He testified that shots hit Steenkamp on her right-hand side, indicating she was not sitting on the toilet when she was shot, as the defence has argued. He suggested that she may have been in a different position and possibly hiding, reports The Guardian. Botha also noted that the toilet was to the left of the door, so Pistorius would have had to fire diagonally, were he to hit her through the locked door.

He also said that the bullets appeared to have been fired down, indicating that Pistorius would have had his prosthetic legs on while he fired the shots. If this is the case, it would contradict the prosecution’s version of the events, which say that Pistorius did not have his artificial legs on when he shot Steenkamp. “When you don’t have your prosthesis on you are more vulnerable,” defence lawyer Barry Roux told the court on Wednesday, reports local paper The Mail and Guardian. The results of ballistics tests, which will indicate the angle from which Pistorius fired the shots, are not yet ready.

Also on Wednesday, Brotha said police had two witness, one who said she had heard arguing and another who said he heard shots and a woman screaming on the night of the shooting, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

The defence attempted to discredit Brotha’s testimony and it is already drawing attention to his team’s conduct at the crime scene. Several media outlets, including The Telegraph, have noted that the defence seems to be better prepared than the state. The defence argued that the witness who said she heard screaming was about 600 metres away from Pistorius’ home, and that she wouldn’t be able to accurately determine where the argument came from. “Towards the end of the cross-examination, the state’s case was looking pretty thin,” said Telegraph reporter Aislinn Laing.

Court also heard evidence of an earlier gun incident involving Pistorius. Former media reports saying that Pistorius fired a gun in a restaurant in Johannesburg were confirmed.

During his testimony, Botha said that testosterone and needles were found at Pistorius’ home during the investigation, but Pistorius’ defence said the shots were a legal, herbal supplement and did not indicate that the athlete was doping, reports The New York Times.

The court got off to a late start on its second day, largely because of the huge amount of public interest in the case. On the first day of the bail hearing, many members of the media couldn’t get into the courtroom. The judge promised to open up an overflow room for media during the second day of the bail hearing, but that room wasn’t ready initially. It was further complicated by members of the public who also wanted to sit in the overflow room, reports BBC News. “An orderly line outside at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court C quickly turned into a shoving match as confused officials struggled to come up with a plan to determine who should get the few seats available inside the red brick courtroom,” writes Andrew Harding at BBC News.

The prosecution is arguing that Pistorius is a flight risk and should not be granted bail, but Magistrate Nair questioned this near the end of the day.

“Can I just say, the accused before court is an international athlete, paralympic athlete, he uses prosthesis on both legs,” Nair said to Brotha. “I’m sure we would both agree that his face is widely recognized internationally. Do you subjectively believe that he would take the opportunity, being who he is, using prosthesics to get around, to flee South Africa?”

Brotha answered that yes, he thought Pistorius had the means to flee. Some members of the court laughed at this suggestion.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-hearing-day-2-wraps-and-still-no-decision-on-bail/feed/0Olympian’s bail hearing makes headlines around the worldhttp://www.macleans.ca/general/olympians-bail-hearing-makes-headlines-around-the-world/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/olympians-bail-hearing-makes-headlines-around-the-world/#commentsWed, 20 Feb 2013 10:00:42 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=352583[View the story “Front-page news: Oscar Pistorius” on Storify]
Front-page news: Oscar Pistorius
With the bail hearing for the Olympian still underway, here’s how the court case is playing in…

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/photos-from-the-oscar-pistorius-bail-hearing/feed/0Oscar Pistorius sobs as prosecutors argue case of premeditated murderhttp://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-sobs-as-prosecutors-argue-case-of-premeditated-murder/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/oscar-pistorius-sobs-as-prosecutors-argue-case-of-premeditated-murder/#commentsTue, 19 Feb 2013 11:16:58 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=352169Friends and family honour short life of Reeva Steenkamp: 'Just like that, she is gone ... in the blink of an eye'

A woman holds a photo of Reeva Steenkamp, as she leaves the she leaves her funeral in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. (Schalk van Zuydam/AP)

Olympian Oscar Pistorius strapped on his prosthetic legs, walked across his bedroom and fired four shots into a locked bathroom door to kill his girlfriend, a court in Pretoria was told Tuesday morning.

“He prepared. He armed himself. The motive was, he wanted to kill,” the prosecutors said.

The 26-year-old athlete sobbed through his bail hearing as prosecutors described the night Reeva Steenkamp was killed.

Barry Roux, lawyer for Pistorius, argued that few facts are known of the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013. He told the court that without witnesses there is no way to prove his client knew who was behind the bathroom door. “There is no concession this is murder,” he told the court.

I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premed murder because I had no intention to kill.

I had no intention to kill my girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

I love my country.

I have been informed I have been accused of murder – I deny the false accusation in the strongest terms. There is no substance to the allegations.

Nothing can be further from the truth that I planned the murder of my girlfriend.

On the night, Reeva was doing yoga exercise in the bedroom and I was watching TV. My legs were off.

I am acutely aware of people gaining entries to homes to commit crime. I have received death threats before. I sleep with a 9mm under my bed.

I woke to close the sliding door and heard a noise in the bathroom. I felt a sense of terror and believed someone had entered my house.

I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable. I had to protect Reeva and myself.

I didn’t switch the light on. I moved towards the bathroom and screamed at the intruder.

I was on my stumps when I fired shots through the bathroom door and shouted Reeva to call the police.

I went back to the bedroom and it dawned on me that it might be Reeva in the bathroom. I was mortified. I kicked the door open and called for security and paramedics.

I carried her downstairs as I was told not to wait for paramedics. She died in my arms.

In hindsight I realize that Reeva went to the bathroom when I got up to close the balcony door.

After the shooting I did not try to flee. I waited for police. I will not evade trial.

In the prosecution’s version of events, Pistorius walked across the bedroom to the locked bathroom and intentionally fired four shots through the door. Three of the bullets hit Steenkamp, killing her. “She locked the door for a purpose. We will get to that purpose,” said prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

Reuters reports that while a crush of journalists worked to get seats in the courtroom, protesters outside carried signs that said “No Bail for Pistorius” and “Rot in jail.”

“It is a sad day, it’s a painful day,” said demonstrator Mosy Mathe, a member of the ANC’s Women’s League. “Whatever happened there, we are coming to say we’ve come on behalf of Reeva. Just to support her and say, even if you are no more, your sisters are standing here to see that justice is carried on.”

The case has been adjourned until Wednesday and the judge has still not ruled on whether Pistorius will get bail.

Elsewhere in South Africa, friends and family were remembering the short life of Reeva Steenkamp. “There’s a space missing inside all the people she knew that can’t be filled again,” her brother Adam Steenkamp told reporters outside her funeral.

]]>Two major sponsors, Oakley and Nike, distanced themselves from Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius on Monday after the South African sports star was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Oakley, the eyewear maker, suspended its contract with Pistorius. And Nike, which sells shoes and other athletic gear, said it has no plans to use him in future ad campaigns.

Pistorius lost both of his legs in childhood. Racing on carbon-fiber blades, he was the first amputee athlete to run at the world championships in 2011, and he made history competing in the London Olympics last year. His success at overcoming hardship made him popular with South Africans, and a desirable pitchman for advertisers.

On Thursday, he was arrested and charged with shooting his girlfriend to death in his home in South Africa. His family has denied that he murdered his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius’ agent has cancelled the athlete’s future scheduled races.

Nike Inc. confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that it had no plans to use Pistorius in future campaigns. Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins declined to say whether Nike had previously had any plans for Pistorius, or whether it will remove current advertising that includes him.

A 2007 Nike Internet ad showing Pistorius starting to sprint in his blades with the caption: “I am the bullet in the chamber” had already been pulled.

Wilkins said the wording in the 2007 campaign “was in reference to Oscar’s speed and performance on the track. Nike felt it was appropriate to take the ad down from Oscar’s website recognizing the sensitivities of the situation.”

Later on Monday, Oakley, in an emailed statement, said that “in light of the recent allegations, Oakley is suspending its contract with Oscar Pistorius, effective immediately.” The California company, a unit of Italian glasses and sunglasses maker Luxottica Group, has been associated with Pistorius since 2009, according to the athlete’s website.

Pistorius’ website, which has been posting statements from his manager and his family, still shows other Nike ads, as well as logos from Nike, Oakley and other companies.

Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike, which spent $800 million on endorsements in its last fiscal year, has found itself in tricky situations with athletes before. It dropped Lance Armstrong in October 2012 after charges of widespread doping on his cycling teams. Armstrong has since admitted to doping and has been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories, and was also dropped by other sponsors.

But Nike stood by golfer Tiger Woods after he admitted to infidelities and went to rehab for sex addiction, and restarted a relationship with football player Michael Vick once he had served time for illegal dog-fighting.

]]>Two major sponsors, Oakley and Nike, distanced themselves from Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius on Monday after the South African sports star was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Oakley, the eyewear maker, suspended its contract with Pistorius. And Nike, which sells shoes and other athletic gear, said it has no plans to use him in future ad campaigns.

Pistorius lost both of his legs in childhood. Racing on carbon-fiber blades, he was the first amputee athlete to run at the world championships in 2011, and he made history competing in the London Olympics last year. His success at overcoming hardship made him popular with South Africans, and a desirable pitchman for advertisers.

On Thursday, he was arrested and charged with shooting his girlfriend to death in his home in South Africa. His family has denied that he murdered his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius’ agent has cancelled the athlete’s future scheduled races.

Nike Inc. confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that it had no plans to use Pistorius in future campaigns. Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins declined to say whether Nike had previously had any plans for Pistorius, or whether it will remove current advertising that includes him.

A 2007 Nike Internet ad showing Pistorius starting to sprint in his blades with the caption: “I am the bullet in the chamber” had already been pulled.

Wilkins said the wording in the 2007 campaign “was in reference to Oscar’s speed and performance on the track. Nike felt it was appropriate to take the ad down from Oscar’s website recognizing the sensitivities of the situation.”

Later on Monday, Oakley, in an emailed statement, said that “in light of the recent allegations, Oakley is suspending its contract with Oscar Pistorius, effective immediately.” The California company, a unit of Italian glasses and sunglasses maker Luxottica Group, has been associated with Pistorius since 2009, according to the athlete’s website.

Pistorius’ website, which has been posting statements from his manager and his family, still shows other Nike ads, as well as logos from Nike, Oakley and other companies.

Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike, which spent $800 million on endorsements in its last fiscal year, has found itself in tricky situations with athletes before. It dropped Lance Armstrong in October 2012 after charges of widespread doping on his cycling teams. Armstrong has since admitted to doping and has been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories, and was also dropped by other sponsors.

But Nike stood by golfer Tiger Woods after he admitted to infidelities and went to rehab for sex addiction, and restarted a relationship with football player Michael Vick once he had served time for illegal dog-fighting.

2. Since his court appearance, Pistorius has been held in a single cell in a Brooklyn police station. “It was a priority to ensure that no harm comes to Oscar,” a police officer told the Guardian newspaper, “and to make double sure that, because of his disability, he is not hurt in any way that could hamper his mobility.”

3. The Olympian’s management team has pulled the athlete from all future competition “to allow Oscar to concentrate on the upcoming legal proceedings and to help and support all those involved as they try to come to terms with this very difficult and distressing situation.”

“All of us saw at first hand how close she had become to Oscar during that time and how happy they were. They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time. We are all grieving for Reeva, her family and her friends.”

5. Carl Pistorius, the athlete’s brother, has expressed condolences on Twitter: “Our hearts are broken too… we have lost a beautiful Lady. This tragedy has changed the landscape of our lives.”

6. Gertie Pistorious, the Olympian’s 89-year-old grandmother, told a newspaper that she believes it’s all a mistake. “I have got my trust in my (grandson) and I have got my trust in the case, and I am sure things will go the right way.”

“Last August, he was holding his head in jubilation, weeping in disbelief that he had crossed the line in first place in the 4x100m relay in a Paralympic record, weeping in relief after winning back public adulation following an earlier petulant outburst over the size of Brazilian sprinter Alan Oliveira’s running blades, and possibly weeping for joy because he knew he was one of the most popular athletes of his generation. This was the Oscar Pistorius I know. Still, I was aware that this poster boy for the Paralympic Games could have flashes of a darker side.”

8. South Africa’s national broadcaster has been criticized for screening Tropika Island of Treasure, a pre-recorded reality TV show on which Steenkamp was a contestant. The show featured a segment presumed to have been recorded after Steenkamp was eliminated from the series. “I think that the way you go out, not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and you make your exit is so important,” she told the camera. “You’ve either made an impact in a positive way or a negative way, but just maintain integrity and maintain class and just always be true to yourself.” Women’s groups are calling on the broadcaster to donate profits from the program to charity.

9. Pistorius is due back in court Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the possibility of bail.